Rapid Fire
Rapid Fire Current Affairs
- 25 Mar 2023
- 4 min read
Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana
Recently, the Central government extended the grant of a subsidy of Rs. 200 per gas cylinder under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) for another year, benefiting 9.59 crore beneficiaries. The subsidy is credited directly to the bank accounts of eligible beneficiaries. In the wake of sharp increases in international Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) prices due to various geopolitical factors, the government has decided to shield PMUY beneficiaries from high LPG prices. PMUY is a government flagship scheme launched in 2016 by the Government of India with the aim to make LPG available to economically weaker households in India. The scheme aims to safeguard the health of women and children by providing them with clean cooking fuel (LPG).
Read More: Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana
Radioactive Tsunami
North Korea claims to have tested a nuclear-capable underwater drone named "Haeil," a Korean word meaning tidal waves or tsunamis designed to generate a gigantic "radioactive tsunami". A radioactive tsunami is a speculative phenomenon that could occur if a nuclear explosion occurred underwater. The drone can be deployed from the coast or towed by surface ships and is built to “stealthily infiltrate into operational waters and make a super-scale radioactive tsunami through an underwater explosion" that would destroy naval strike groups and ports.
DigiClaim
DigiClaim is a digitized claim settlement module launched recently under the purview of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). With the launch of this module, claims will be disbursed electronically, which will benefit the respective farmers of six states. Insurance claims totaling Rs 1260.35 crore have been disbursed on 23 March 2023 to insured farmers in the states of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Haryana. The automated claim settlement process will be an ongoing activity to ease all insured farmers’ lives and provide them with a sustainable financial flow and support. Farmers’ claims will be processed directly to their respective bank accounts in a transparent and accountable manner. This technology has been enabled through the integration of the National Crop Insurance Portal (NCIP) and the Public Finance Management System (PFMS).
Read more: Crop Insurance
Abel Prize
Luis Caffarelli has won the 2023 Abel Prize for his contributions to regularity theory for nonlinear partial differential equations, including free-boundary problems and the Monge-Ampère equation. The Abel Prize is a prestigious award in mathematics that recognizes pioneering scientific achievements in mathematics. It is named after Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel. The Norwegian Parliament established the prize in 2002, and it includes a monetary award of 7.5 million kroner (approximately $720,000) and a glass plaque. It is awarded by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters on behalf of the Ministry of Education of Norway.
Read more: Abel Prize
