Which of the following village of Rajasthan is transforming itself to a zero-waste model with the help of Green Technology intervention ?
- (1)Menar
- (2)Devmali
- (3)Naurangabad
- (4)Aandhi
Answer
Why
Correct — option (4), Aandhi.
On 29 October 2024, a Press Information Bureau release from the Ministry of Science & Technology reported that Aandhi, "a tiny village in the district of Jaipur, and about 43 Km from Rajasthan's capital city of Jaipur", was "transforming itself to a zero-waste model with the help of green technology interventions".
The package has four parts: an Organic Waste Bio-Methanation Plant, Vermifiltration Technology, Constructed Wetlands and a resource recovery centre. Vermicomposting units were also set up.
Each demonstration unit has its own site: the bio-methanation plant (100 kg capacity, with a 5 kW solar system) at the government school, the vermifiltration unit (10 KLD) at the community health centre, and the constructed wetland (20 KLD) at the main pond.
The release presents it as a Department of Science & Technology (DST) initiative. The plants were inaugurated in the presence of Dr Anita Gupta, head of DST's Climate, Energy and Sustainable Technology (CEST) Division.
The idea to remember: zero waste here means turning food, farm and hospital waste and wastewater into resources such as biogas, treated water and compost.
Why the others are wrong
- (1)Menar — Menar is a village in Vallabh Nagar tehsil of Udaipur district. Its news is wetland conservation.
By a notification dated 19 July 2023, Rajasthan's Department of Environment and Climate Change notified the Brahm Talab and Dhand Talab complex at Menar as a 132-hectare wetland under the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017. That is not a zero-waste technology package.
- (2)Devmali — Devmali's news is a tourism award. On World Tourism Day, 27 September 2024, the Ministry of Tourism named 36 winners of its Best Tourism Villages Competition 2024, chosen from 991 applications.
The list includes Deomali, Rajasthan (देवमाली in the Hindi release), in the Community Based Tourism category. The zero-waste release of 29 October 2024 names Aandhi, not Devmali.
- (3)Naurangabad — Naurangabad is not the village in this report. The Ministry of Science & Technology's release of 29 October 2024 on a Rajasthan village moving to a zero-waste model names Aandhi, about 43 km from Jaipur.
A current-affairs answer has to match the village the report itself names.
Concept
A zero-waste model treats waste as a resource, so that as little as possible is left for disposal. In a village, that means handling each stream separately: organic waste, wastewater and recyclables.
Bio-methanation is anaerobic digestion: microbes break down organic waste without oxygen, producing biogas, which is mostly methane, and a residue usable as manure.
Vermifiltration passes wastewater through a bed where earthworms help break down the organic matter. A constructed wetland is an engineered system that treats wastewater by copying the processes of a natural wetland.
RPSC's 2024 syllabus lists "Major Current Events and Issues of Rajasthan, India and International Importance" and "Persons, Places and Institutions in News" under Current Affairs. A village picked for a national technology demonstration is a place in news.
Village waste management is also the focus of the second phase of Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen), which moves from building toilets to ODF Plus, including solid and liquid waste management.
Three Rajasthan villages were in official news between July 2023 and October 2024 for different reasons: Aandhi for green technology (October 2024), Devmali for a tourism award (September 2024), and Menar's ponds for their notification as a wetland (July 2023).
Key facts
- PIB (Ministry of Science & Technology), 29 October 2024: Aandhi, about 43 km from Jaipur, is transforming itself to a zero-waste model through green technology interventions.
- Aandhi's package: Organic Waste Bio-Methanation Plant, Vermifiltration Technology, Constructed Wetlands and a resource recovery centre, plus vermicomposting units.
- Capacities at Aandhi: bio-methanation plant 100 kg with 5 kW solar (school), vermifiltration 10 KLD (health centre), constructed wetland 20 KLD (main pond).
- Best Tourism Villages Competition 2024 (announced 27 September 2024): 36 winners in 8 categories; Deomali, Rajasthan, won in Community Based Tourism.
- Brahm Talab and Dhand Talab at Menar, Udaipur, were notified as a 132-hectare wetland by a Rajasthan notification dated 19 July 2023.
Source: PIB release, Ministry of Science & Technology, 29 October 2024.
Study next
Common traps
- Three Rajasthan villages in the options were in the news for different things: Aandhi for zero waste, Devmali for a tourism award, Menar for a wetland. Tie each village to its own report.
- "Wetland" appears in two stories. Aandhi's constructed wetland is an engineered treatment unit at its pond; Menar's is a natural wetland notified for conservation.
- "Green technology" at Aandhi is a waste and wastewater package. The 5 kW solar system is one part of the bio-methanation unit, not the intervention itself.
A question can describe an initiative and ask for the village, as this one does, or name a village and ask what it is known for. A question can also ask which technologies a package includes or which ministry announced it, or match villages with their recognitions.
Related PYQs
UnlockIAS will link similar questions from RAS Pre 2021 and 2018 here once those papers are published on this site.
Practice
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which of the following were part of the green technology package installed at Aandhi village in Rajasthan, as reported by PIB in October 2024? A. Organic Waste Bio-Methanation Plant B. Vermifiltration Technology C. Constructed Wetlands D. Waste incineration plant
- (a)A, B and C only
- (b)A and B only
- (c)B, C and D only
- (d)A, B, C and D
Answer(1) — The release lists an Organic Waste Bio-Methanation Plant, Vermifiltration Technology, Constructed Wetlands and a resource recovery centre; an incineration plant is not in that list. Option (2) leaves out the constructed wetlands; options (3) and (4) add the incineration plant. - practice — not a real PYQ
In the Ministry of Tourism's Best Tourism Villages Competition 2024, Deomali (Devmali) of Rajasthan was declared a winner in which category?
- (a)Heritage
- (b)Agri Tourism
- (c)Community Based Tourism
- (d)Craft
Answer(3) — The Ministry's list of 36 winners, announced on 27 September 2024, places Deomali, Rajasthan, under Community Based Tourism. Heritage, Agri Tourism and Craft are other categories in the same list, won by other villages such as Andro (Manipur, Heritage), Kumarakom (Kerala, Agri Tourism) and Sualkuchi (Assam, Craft).