Notes:
The World Biofuel Day (WBD) is observed every year on 10th of August to create awareness about the importance of non-fossil fuels as an alternative to conventional fossil fuels. The day also highlights the various efforts made by Government in the biofuel sector. The 2019 theme of Biofuel day is ‘Production of Biodiesel from Used Cooking Oil (UCO)’. Biofuels have the benefits of reduction of import dependence, cleaner environment, additional income to farmers and employment generation.

Notes:
On the occasion of World Tribal Day (WTD-2019), the Madhya Pradesh government has announced that loans taken by tribals from money-lenders would be waived in all tribal blocks of the state. The government will also provide debit cards to tribals through which they can withdraw up to Rs 10,000 from ATMs. The facility to withdraw money from ATMs will be provided at weekly markets. The decision is expected to benefit 1.5 crore tribals. Chief Minister Kamal Nath has also said that the government will also ensure that tribals get back valuables like jewelery and land pledged as collateral for the loan. Now, money-lenders will have to obtain a license from the government for working in tribal areas. The state government has also announced that forest villages would be converted into `revenue villages’ for administrative convenience. The Scheduled Tribes (STs) department would be renamed as Tribal Development Department as per tribals’ demand.

Notes:
The Madhya Pradesh government has recently `Mukhyamantri Madad Yojna’ for providing assistance to tribal families on child birth and death of a family member. Upon the birth of a boy or a girl, the family will get 50 kg of rice or wheat. In the event of death in the family, 100 kg of rice or wheat and utensils for cooking food would be given. Beside this, 40 new Eklavya schools would be set up in tribal areas to provide quality education. For preserving tribal history, a museum with estimated cost of Rs 500 crore will be set up at Jabalpur in the memory of Raja Shankarshah and Raja Raghunath Shah.

Notes:
Sudha Rani Relangi, who is currently serving as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Law and Justice, has been appointed as new director of prosecution in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for a period of two years. The post had been lying vacant since the last Director of Prosecution OP Verma completed his term on 24th December 2018.

Notes:
The researchers at IIT Madras have designed a system titled ‘Project Water Chakra’ to recycle human urine. The project won the Indian Innovation Growth Programme 2.0 award in July 2019. The researchers have retrofitted urinals on the campus to collect urine i.e. then processed into several useful materials for use in manufacturing. The concentrated urine is stored for 3 days to allow the urea to get converted to ammonia. By a process of steam distillation, the ammonia is segregated and this commercial grade liquid can be used to make cleaning products, such as detergents or in rubber manufacturing. Then, to precipitate phosphorus through struvite process, magnesium is added to the rest of the liquid. Hence, through electrochemical process we can recover 90% of water and it can be used for gardening purposes and flushing.