09 Nov 2020: PIB Summary & Analysis 1. Uttarakhand Statehood Day Context: Uttarakhand Divas or Uttarakhand Day is annually observed on 9 November. Details: • Uttarakhand was formed on 9 November 2000 after bifurcating former Uttar Pradesh by the Uttar Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2000. • The state was initially called Uttaranchal and later renamed Uttarakhand in January 2007. • The first demand for a separate state of Uttarakhand was made in 1897. The demand became a mass movement in the 1990s, which culminated in the formation of the state in 2000. 2. 15th Finance Commission Context: The 15th Finance Commission submits its report for 2021-22 to 2025-26 to the President. Details: • The Commission was asked to give its recommendations on many unique and wide-ranging issues in its terms of reference. • Apart from the vertical and horizontal tax devolution, local government grants, disaster management grant, the Commission was also asked to examine and recommend performance incentives for States in many areas like the power sector, adoption of DBT, solid waste management, etc. • The Commission was also asked to examine whether a separate mechanism for funding of defence and internal security ought to be set up and if so how such a mechanism could be operationalised. • This Report has been organised in four volumes. o Volume I and II, as in the past, contain the main report and the accompanying annexes. o Volume III is devoted to the Union Government and examines key departments in greater depth, with the medium-term challenges and the roadmap ahead. o Volume IV is entirely devoted to the States. The Commission has analysed the finances of each State in great depth and has come up with State-specific considerations to address the key challenges that individual States face. • The Report will be available in the public domain once it is tabled in the Parliament by the Union Government along with explanatory memorandum/action taken report on the recommendations contained in the Report. Read more on the 15th Finance Commission in the linked article. 3. Commercial coal mining Context: States to garner Rs. 6,656 Crores of annual revenue from the nation’s first commercial coal mining auction. Details: • The Prime Minister had launched India’s first auction of coal mines for commercial mining in June 2020. • Out of 38 mines put on auction, financial bids were received for 19 mines and the success of the auction remained at 50%. o The average success rate of the previous 10 tranches of coal auctions remained at about 30% as only 35 mines could be auctioned out of 116 mines put on auction during the last 10 tranches. • Almost 65% of bidders were from the ‘non-end user’ category like Real Estate, Infrastructure, Pharma, etc., which is a positive sentiment shared by the industry after the removal of the ‘End Use’ criteria from the bidding process. • 42 companies participated in the auction, out of which 40 were private players. • Out of these successfully auctioned 19 mines, 11 are opencast, 5 are underground mines and the remaining 3 are a mix of underground and opencast mines. • These mines are spread over the five states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand and Maharashtra and have a consolidated Peak Rated Capacity (PRC) of 51 Million Tonnes Per Annum (MTPA). Read more on commercial coal mining in PIB dated June 11, 2020. 4. India Mobile Congress 2020 Context: The Minister of State for Communications, Education and Electronics & Information Technology announced the fourth edition of the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2020, through a video message. About the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2020: • The IMC 2020 is scheduled to be held in December virtually on account of the pandemic. • The event is jointly organized by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI). • Delegates from more than 50 countries will participate in the event. • The theme for IMC 2020 is "Inclusive Innovation - Smart I Secure I Sustainable". • The event will witness the coming together of some of the top industry stalwarts, regulators and policymakers from across the globe. • It also includes participation from various ministries, telco CEOs, global CEOs and experts in SG broadcasting, SG enterprise solutions, OTT, and sustainable futurists. • Considered the largest digital technology forum in Asia, IMC has established itself as a leading platform for bringing together the industry, government, academia, and other ecosystem players to discuss, deliberate and display the latest industry technology trends around major themes such as SG, Artificial Intelligence (Al), Internet of things (loT), Data Analytics, Cloud and Edge Computing, Open source tech, data privacy and cybersecurity, Smart Cities and automation. About COAI: • COAI was constituted in 1995 as a registered, non-governmental society. • COAI's vision is to establish India as the global leader of mobile communications infrastructure, products and services and achieving a national teledensity of 100 per cent, including broadband. • The association is also dedicated to the advancement of modern communication and towards delivering the benefits of innovative and affordable mobile communication services to the people of India. 5. Mission Shakti Context: Defence Minister unveils A-Sat Missile Model in DRDO Bhawan. Details: • ‘Mission Shakti’ was India’s first-ever Anti-Satellite (ASAT) Missile Test successfully conducted in March 2019 from Dr AP J Abdul Kalam Island in Odisha, where a fast-moving Indian orbiting target satellite in the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) was neutralised with pinpoint accuracy. • This made India the fourth nation in the world with the capability to defend its assets in outer space. Know more about Mission Shakti in the linked article. 6. 13th Urban Mobility India Conference Context: The 13th Urban Mobility India (UMI) Conference inaugurated. Details: • The annual Urban Mobility India (UMI) Conference and Expo is a flagship event held under the aegis of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India. • The genesis of UMI is from the National Urban Transport Policy of the Government of India, 2006 (NUTP), which lays a very strong emphasis on building capabilities at the State and city levels to address the problems associated with urban transport and undertake the task of developing sustainable urban transport systems. Background: • India is witnessing the arrival of a new generation of mobility discourses, which are nuanced enough to provide sustainable urban mobility. • The Ministry has issued a detailed advisory, as to how the nation needs to move ahead in these testing times. It rests on three pillars: o Promotion of public transport system o Leveraging technological advancements o Penetration of NMT (non-motorised transport) systems in the urban transport paradigm • Various studies show that about 16-57% of urban commuters are pedestrian and about 30-40% of commuters use bicycles in the country depending on the size of the city. • Considering this as an opportunity, elevating the priority of these modes gives travelers another private vehicle alternative, which is clean, safe, secured particularly if it is integrated with other modes and affordable for all. • Non-motorised transport will occupy the prime, non-negotiable, position in every form of urban mobility discourse and intervention. 7. Saffron cultivation Context: The Saffron bowl of India extends to the North East. Details: • The North East Centre For Technology Application and Reach (NECTAR) has undertaken a pilot project to explore the feasibility of growing saffron in the North East region. • Plants from seeds transported from Kashmir to Sikkim and acclimatized there are now flowering in Yangyang in the Southern part of the North-East state. • The Botany and Horticulture department of the Sikkim Central University carried out tests to understand the soil and actual pH conditions of Yangyang of Sikkim and found it comparable to saffron growing places of Kashmir. • The project also focused on post-harvest management and value addition of saffron so that quality saffron drying and efficient post-harvest processing can improve saffron recovery, thereby improving its production. Background: • Saffron production has long been restricted to a limited geographical area in the Union territory of Jammu & Kashmir. • Pampore region, in India, commonly known as the Saffron bowl of Kashmir, is the main contributor to saffron production, followed by Budgam, Srinagar, and Kishtiwar districts. • Saffron has traditionally been associated with the famous Kashmiri cuisine. • Its medicinal values were considered as part of the rich cultural heritage of Kashmir. • As saffron growing was confined to very specific areas in Kashmir, its production remained limited. • Though the National Mission on Saffron focused on several measures to improve its farming, the measures were still limited to the specified areas of Kashmir. .