Daily Current Affairs – April 30

GS – 1

Geography

169 new names of Tropical Cyclones:

• The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has released 169 new names for the tropical cyclones in the Indian Ocean Region.
• The names were contributed by 13 countries namely India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Thailand, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Iran. The decision to create new list of cyclones was taken during the 45th session of Panel on Tropical Cyclones (PTC) held by World Meteorological Organization.
• The names should have the following rules
• The proposed names should be neutral to cultures, politics, gender and religious beliefs
• The name should not be rude or cruel in nature
• The PTC has rights to reject the names suggested by the countries
• The name should be short with less than 8 characters and easy to pronounce.

GS – 2

National

GoI to take over E-Commerce in rural areas:

• The Government of India announced that the Common Service Centres will now take over village level online retail chain. The step is expected to reach more than 60 crores of people in rural region.
• The Common Service Centre’s are to take over the jobs of E-commerce Giants Flipkart and Amazon in the rural regions.
• The initiative is promoted by Government of India.
• The village-level online retail chains are being created to address the difficulties created by the restrictions imposed on mobility. GoI has plans t o provide massive essential supplies through this initiative.
• The outlets are to be set up and run by private individuals. However, they are to be monitored directly by the Ministry of electronics and IT.
• The Common Service Centre’s are to supply essential commodities like milk, vegetables, fruits, pulses, etc. The consumers shall place their orders at these centres through special applications.
• The Common Service Centre’s were established in 2006 under National E-Governance Plan. They were to provide cost-effective, high quality voice and data services in the areas of education, telemedicine, e-governance and entertainment.

Government policies and Interventions

Jal Shakti Abhiyan:

• The Jal Shakti Abhiyan has taken all measures to boost the rural economy and combat present health crisis created by COVID-19. Also, the scheme is to use large availability of rural labour forces (due to lock down).
• The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) had recently announced that the monsoon rains in the country are to be normal.
• The Jal Shakti Abhiyan had made preparations to conserve water and recharge and replenish water sources.
• About the scheme: The Jal Shakti Abhiyan was launched in 2019. So far, the scheme has covered over 256 water stressed districts in the country. It is the largest mass movement in India that brings all stakeholders under one ambit. This is because more than 6 and half crore people are part of it. This includes central government, state governments, Panchayati raj institutions, and more.