CURRENT AFFAIRS 2023: UPDATED RELEVANT NEWS

FOOD SECURITY SCHEME OF 2023: NEWLY INTEGRATED

Recently launched the new integrated food security scheme by the Central government of India which will provide free food grains to 81.35 crore of beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) for the year 2023 including Antyodaya Ann Yojana households and priority household persons, for one year through the network of 5.33 lakh fair price shops acroos the country. This scheme will subsume two current food subsidy schemes of the Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD): the food subsidy to the Food Corporation of India (FCI) for the NFSA. It will also enable uniform implementation of portability under the "ONE NATION ONE RATION CARD" program, and will be implemented through the network of 5.33 lakh fair price shops across the country. 

UPI TRANSACTION SET A RECORD IN DECEMBER

The payment record through UPI has set a high bar of transaction on December, as per India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) processed a record 7.82 billion transactions in December, worth a total of INR 12.82tn ($174.6bn). This represents an increase of 7.12% in volume and 7.73% in value compared to November. UPI (Unified payments interface) was mostly used for P2P transactions but in recent years there has been a significant shift towards P2M transactions, well it is expected in upcoming years most of the banking system will boost the UPI system as it is increasing the volume and value both.

IN PAST 16 MONTHS INDIA'S UNEMPLOYMENT REACHES HIGHEST

India's unemployment rate reached 8.30% in December, the highest level in 16 months. As per the CMIE (Centre for monitoring Indian Economy) this marks an increase from the 8.00% recorded in November. The urban unemployment rate also saw a rise, going from 8.96% in November to 10.09% in December. However, the rural unemployment rate saw a slight decrease, going from 7.55% in November to 7.44% in December. Alongside with some increased unemployment rate, there is slight growth in labor participation rate which reached 40% in December.

Top 5 states with Highest Unemployment rates in December:

HARYANA: 37.4%

RAJASTHAN: 28.5%

DELHI: 20.8%

BIHAR: 19.1%

JHARKHAND: 18%

Top 5 states with Lowest Unemployment rates in December:

ORISSA: 0.9%

GUJARAT: 2.3%

KARNATAKA: 2.5%

MEGHALAYA: 2.7%

MAHARASHTRA: 3.1%

NEW TECHNOLOGY TO FILTER MICROPLASTICS FROM WATER 

South Korean scientists have developed a new water purification system which can effectively remove micro-plastics from water in just 10 seconds. The power consuming capacity will be use low in this technology so that it can also run in solar based energy. Micro-plastics have became a global problem, the presence of these particles have been found in water bodies, air, soil and even in human food chain which can become a serious issue globally in human health. The system uses a polymer that is able to quickly and effectively filter out these contaminants and requires lower levels of energy, making it ideal for use with solar power. 

--Megha Gupta