03.12.21 Daily [Andhra Pradesh] APPSC Current Affairs

The Andhra Pradesh Government released Rs 686 crores for the Vidya Deevena Scheme, an Education assistance scheme, as the third tranche of the scheme.

Highlights:

The Vidya Deevena Scheme grants scholarships to students who cannot pay their college fees.

It is a fee reimbursement scheme, where the students pay the educational institutes, and the government pays the students, but No total compensation.

Total compensation includes college fees, hostel fees, mess fees, but the scheme compensates for only college fees.

The scheme mainly concentrates on students exploring higher education.

If the student has less than 75% attendance and students in private or deemed universities, the fee disbursement is not done.

The scheme is not appropriate for distant Learning and the NRI quota.

The official website to apply for the Vidya Deevena scheme is NAVASAKAM.ap.gov.in.

Benefits

In 2019, the Government of Andhra Pradesh had allocated Rs 6,259 crores for fee reimbursement under the scheme, which benefitted 21.48 lakh students.

The Government of Andhra Pradesh aims for a 100% Literacy rate in the state through the scheme.

Its main aim is to fulfil the dreams of students pursuing higher education without hampering their families.

Over 2,118 students studying in private universities have availed from the scheme as of November 2021.

Indias first privately built cryogenic rocket engine called Dhawan-1 was test-fired privately by Skyroot Aerospace.

Highlights:

Skyroot Aerospace exhibited the upper stage of its Vikram-2 launch vehicle.

The cryogenic rocket engine is 3D printed and made in India.

It has been named after Satish Dhawan, the third chairman of ISRO, as he pioneered the development of advanced launch capabilities of India.

Vikram Rocket has been identified after Vikram Sarabhai, who started India’s space program and conducted advanced nuclear research.

The rocket uses a mixture of Liquid Natural Gas, more than 90 per cent methane and Liquid Oxygen.

It is called “Methalox”, in the combined state, which forms a cryogenic rocket fuel.

This provides high performance and a low cost. The fuel is environmentally friendly, which is dubbed “Fuel of the future”.

Dhawan-1

The Dhawan-1 engine includes a vacuum thrust of about 1.5kN. The engine was tested on a specially built testbed at Solar Industries in Nagpur.

The engine is the upper stage of the Vikram-2 launch vehicle that uses Environment-friendly compounds called LNG and LOX. It is entirely 3D printed.

Pixxel 1 satellite is set to be launched in 2022, the first private satellite in an Earth Observation constellation in low Earth orbit.

The UNESCO recently presented two Heritage Awards to the Nizamuddin Basti Project. The project was awarded for its conservation efforts. It was awarded with the Special Recognition for Sustainable Award and Award of Excellence.

The project restored more than 20 historic monuments located around 14^thcentury Sufi Saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya.

The Nizamuddin area consists of and Batashewala Tomb and tomb of a 16^thcentury poet Rahim (Khan I Khanan). These regions were segregated and damaged. They were also renewed by the Nizamuddin Basti Project.

The project was started in 2007 by the Aga Kahn Trust for Culture, Archaeological Survey of India, Delhi Urban Heritage Foundation and the Delhi Municipal Corporation.

The Nizamuddin Basti Project is an Urban Renewal Project. It successfully unified the segregated zones of the seven-century old settlement of the Nizamuddin Basti and its surrounding 70 acres.

It integrated socio Economic Development, conservation and environmental development objectives in these areas.

Panaji, Goa will host the 7th India International Science Festival From 10 to 13 December.

Highlights

From December 10 to 13, 2021, the 7th edition of the four-day India International Science Festival (IISF) will be placed in Panaji, Goa.

“Celebrating Creativity in Science, Technology, and Innovation for a Prosperous India” is the festival theme for 2021. In 2015, the inaugural IISF was conducted in New Delhi.

The National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) in Goa, which is part of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, is the organising body for IISF 2021.

Barbados is the Worlds newest republic, 400 years after it became a British colony.

Highlights

Barbados, the Caribbean Island nation, dismissed Queen Elizabeth II as the head of the state.

Dame Sandra Prunella Mason became President of Barbados and was selected to become the first president of Barbados in October 2021.

She was announced by Speaker of the House of Assembly, Arthur Holder.

The British made Barbados a slave Society when it first became an English colony in 1625. It gained its independence in 1966.