Sakshi Education
- Mizoram to embark on ‘COVID-19 No Tolerance Fortnight’
The Mizoram government has decided to shut all schools that were reopened for students of classes 10 and 12 due to the rising number of locally transmitted COVID-19 cases and also because some pupils have tested positive for the infection.
All Unlock Guidelines, all Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs) and all sections of the Mizoram Containment and Prevention of COVID-19 Ordinance, 2020 will be enforced very strictly.
State Executive Committee under Mizoram State Disaster Management Authority is expected to issue a notification concerning COVID-19-No Tolerance Fortnight.
Registrations for next year’s board examinations are under process and online classes will continue.
Only 70 per cent of the government employees will attend office on an alternate basis and the young staffers in the remaining 30 per cent will be deployed for COVID-19 duty.
A maximum of 35 people can attend marriage receptions and funerals and 20 people can attend political and social gatherings. The previous limit was 50
As per the new order, gymnasiums and picnic resorts shall remain closed and sports practice will be allowed with a maximum of 10 participants for indoor events and 25 for outdoor activities.
- IIT Kharagpur, TCS jointly develop new Industry 4.0 solution
IIT Kharagpur and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) have jointly developed a novel Industry 4.0 technology for remotely controlled factory operations and real-time quality correction during industrial production in a bid to deliver quality output at low costs. Through this innovation, IIT Kharagpur aims to stimulate innovation in advanced manufacturing to boost the capital goods sector.
The present innovation upgraded the industrial process of friction stir welding to a multi-sensory system of Industry 4.0. This will make possible for industrial houses to achieve standardized quality goals throughout the production process and reduce rejection hence lowering the cost of production.
The innovation was undertaken at the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur’s centre of excellence in Advanced Manufacturing Technology set with support from the Department of Heavy Industry, Government of India along with an industry consortium.
The technology has been developed by Prof Surjya K Pal, professor in-charge at the Centre of Excellence in Advanced Manufacturing Technology in association with TCS.
He will acquire real-time information about the welding process through multiple sensors and enable online control of weld quality by means of cloud-based communication with the friction stir welding machine
The concept of this technology can further be evolved for real-time control of other industrial processes and such work will be carried at the Centre with other industrial partners soon.
The Industry partner TCS views such an innovation has helped to give a direction as an enabler of technology-based transformations in the country, especially in overcoming challenges called out by the pandemic.
- CBSE introduces facial recognition system for accessing digital documents
Using the state of the art Facial Recognition System, CBSE will enable students, to download their digital academic documents of class X and XII.
This computer application matches human face from a digital image already stored in the database.
The computer and the human interact to map the facial features. In a Similar way, a live image of the student will be matched with the photograph on the CBSE admit card already stored in repository, and once successful, the certificate will be emailed to the student.
This application is now available on “ParniaamManjusha” and Digi Locker at https://digilocker.gov.in/cbse-certificate.html for all 2020 records.
CBSE has already pushed 12 crores digital academic documents in Digi locker which can be opened by a student to access Mark sheets, Pass and Migration Certificates.
The latest facility of Face Matching will immensely help foreign students and those who are unable to open Digi locker account for any reason such as Adhaar Card or Wrong mobile numbers
- Indian Navy Missile Corvette INS Prabal launches anti-ship missile
The Indian Navy shared a video showing an anti-ship missile (AShM) launched by its Missile Corvette INS Prabal with accuracy at maximum range and sinking the target ship.
The missile was fired by frontline corvette INS Prabal as part of a mega naval drill involving aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya and a number of warships, attack helicopters, aircraft and other assets of the Navy.
INS Prabal (K93) was a Chamak class missile boat of the Indian Navy.
- First batch of 3 women pilots on Dornier Aircraft at Kochi
Indian Navy has operationalized the first batch of three Women Pilots on Dornier Aircraft by the Southern Naval Command (SNC) at Kochi.
Country's first batch of women pilots are ready to soar high on Dornier Aircraft. The three women pilots were part of the six pilots of the 27th Dornier Operational Flying Training Course DOFT.
They graduated as fully operational Maritime Reconnaissance MR Pilots at a passing out ceremony held at INS Garuda in Kochi on Thursday.
Rear Admiral Antony George, Chief Staff Officer of Southern Naval Command presented awards to the pilots who are now fully qualified on Dornier aircraft for all operational missions.
The three women pilots of the first batch are Lieutenant Divya Sharma, Lieutenant ShubhangiSwaroop, and Lieutenant Shivangi. These officers had initially undergone basic flying training partly with Indian Air Force and partly with the Navy prior to the DOFT course.
- Punjabi version of 'Age Appropriate Fitness Protocols'
To make people get aware about the health and fitness mantra Punjab Sports and NRI Affairs Minister, Shri Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi launched Punjabi version of ‘Age Appropriate Fitness Protocols’.
It is for all age groups under the fit India movement under the initiative of Sports Authority of India (SAI) and National Institute of Sports (NIS) Patiala. These will provide vast knowledge about fitness throughout the country.
Punjabi version will help the Fit India Mission reach the masses. About 325 coaches and athletes of Punjab virtually joined this launching program.
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi launched these Age Appropriate Fitness Protocols on the occasion of the first anniversary of the Fit India Movement on 24th September 2020.
- 'Lost' river 172,000 years ago found near Bikaner
A "lost" river that ran through the central Thar desert, near Bikaner, about 1,72,000 years ago has been found by researchers. It may have been a life-line for humans inhabiting the region.
The findings represent the oldest directly dated phase of river activity at Nal Quarry in the central Thar Desert.
Details
The study indicates that Stone Age populations lived in a distinctly different Thar Desert landscape than we encounter today.
This evidence indicates a river flowed with phases of activity dating to approximately up to 172 thousand years ago, nearby to Bikaner, Rajasthan, which is over 200 kilometres away from the nearest modern river.
These findings predate evidence for activity in modern river courses across the Thar Desert as well as dried up course of the Ghaggar-Hakra River.
The results indicated that the strongest river activity at Village of Nal occurred at approximately 172 and 140 thousand years ago, at a time when the monsoon was much weaker than today in the region. River activity continued at the site between 95 to 78 thousand years ago.
- MoD sets new rules for land transfer to reduce armed forces' expenditure
The Ministry of Defence approved the land transfer rules that will allow the armed forces to receive infrastructure equivalent in value to the land under their control which is needed for public utilities.
The move is expected to reduce the defence forces’ expenditure on development works, including new offices and housing for soldiers.
Under the new rules on transfer of defence land for public utilities and public infrastructure projects, the forces will effectively be able to monetise their considerable land holdings for internal use.
Until now, land needed for important public works, like roads and railways, could either be exchanged for land of equivalent value, or in rare cases for payment of market prices.
NHAI (National Highways Authority of India), metros, state governments can offer equal value infrastructure in lieu of defence land required by them.
The new rules provide for land to be transferred in lieu of equal value infrastructure (EVI).
In case the EVI is of lesser value than the cost of land, the balance payment would now be transferred to the defence ministry.
As per the rules, the value of land would be determined by a committee headed by the local military authority in cases falling under cantonment zones, and the district magistrate if the land is in other areas.
- All about TarangSuposhitMaharashtracha
Maharashtra’s Women & Child welfare dept launches initiative to fulfill nutritional requirements of lactating mothers & children.
After performing the most difficult task of providing nutritional food to beneficiaries during Corona pandemic, Maharashtra’s Women and Child welfare department has launched a new initiative to fulfill the nutritional requirements of lactating mothers and children in the state.
State government inaugurated a platform ‘TARANG SUPOSHIT MAHARASHTRACHA’ which is based on the interactive voice response system.
The platform is expected to create more awareness about the nutritional requirements of women and children in the state.
The platform gives benefits like helpline, Whatsapp, chatbot, broadcast call and others.
The platform attributes short firms with knowledge about nutrition food.
The platform also provides a series of videos on exceptional recipes of nutritional dishes.
PoshanMah
Maharashtra stood first in the recently concluded PoshanMah in the country.
Now the Women and Child development department is trying to interact directly with lactating mothers and the parents of the children to create awareness about their nutritional requirement with the help of technology.
- Vizag Metro Rail project to be completed by 2028
Vizag Metro Rail project, proposed to be taken up in four corridors covering a total distance of 75.3 km at an estimated cost of ?15,933 crore, is expected to be completed by 2028. The first phase, extending over 46.40 km, is expected to be completed by 2025.
A master plan has already been prepared for development of 79.91 km of light metro corridor and 60 km modern tram corridor.
The project consultants would prepare separate DPRs for the metro and tram corridors and submit them by mid-November and mid-December respectively.
The consultants have made detailed traffic study and recommended four metro corridors with 52 stations, extending over a length of 75.31 km.
Corridor-1 will be from Steel Plant to Kommadi junction, covering a distance of 34.23 km, corridor-2 from Gurudwara to Old Post Office, covering 5.26 km, corridor-3 from Thatichetlapalem to China Waltair, covering 6.91 km and corridor-4 from Kommadi to Bhogapuram Airport, covering a distance of 28.91 km.
The modern tram will be in three routes:
Corridor-1: NAD junction to Pendurthi, covering 10.20 km.,
Corridor-2: Steel Plant Gate to Anakapalle, covering 18.20 km and
Corridor-3 : Old Head Post Office to Bheemili beach via Rushikonda 31.80 km.
Unique features
Unique features of Vizag Metro were that it would not have overhead electrical lines as in the case of other metros in India, and would be powered by 750 volts DC power.
It would be a driver-less metro. Six multi-level car parkings were planned at Steel Plant Gate, Gurudwara, Maddilapalem, BVK College, Sampath Vinayak temple and Gajuwaka. Each would have a capacity for parking 200 to 300 cars.
Of the 75.3 km of light metro corridors, 70.5 km would be fully elevated and 4.5 km would be at grade level near Bhogapuram Airport.
- 3 key projects, including ‘KisanSuryoday Yojana’ in Gujarat
Modi launched the KisanSuryodaya Yojana for providing 16 hours of power supply to farmers.
He also inaugurated the Paediatric Heart Hospital attached with U.N Mehta Institute of Cardiology and Research Centre and a Mobile Application for tele-cardiology at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad.
The Prime Minister also inaugurated the ropeway at Girnar on the occasion.
KisanSuryodaya Yojana:
Rs. 3,500 crore will be spent over the next three years for providing solar power to farmers for irrigation during daytime (5 AM to 9 PM).
About 3,500 circuit kilometers (CKM) of new transmission lines will be laid.
10 districts including Dahod, Gir-Somnath and Tapi have been selected under the Scheme for 2020-21. The remaining districts will be covered in a phase-wise manner by 2022-23.
It would help in the expansion of micro irrigation in the state. Micro irrigation is defined as the frequent application of small quantities of water directly above and below the soil surface; usually as discrete drops, continuous drops or tiny streams through emitters placed along a water delivery line.
It would complement irrigation projects of the State- SujalamSufalam and SAUNI (Saurashtra-Narmada Avtaran Irrigation) yojana.
It would complement central government initiatives like neem coating urea, Soil Health Cards, KUSUM Yojana, etc.
India has now reached 5th position in the world in the last few years in solar power and is advancing fast. Further, it has given the world the plan of ‘One Sun, One World, One Grid’.
Ropeway Project on Mount Girnar:
The 2.3 km- long ropeway project is being touted as the longest temple ropeway in Asia.
Mount Girnar has Gorakhnath peak, Guru Dattatreya peak and a Jain temple.
It is the fourth ropeway in Gujarat along with Banaskantha, Pavagadh and Satpura.
It will give a boost to adventure activities as well as tourism in the state.
Sites like Shivarajpur beach which has got blue flag certification and Statue of Unity, provides a lot of employment opportunities to the locals.
- Shri Arjun Munda launches two Centers of Excellence for tribal welfare in partnership with Art of Living
Union Minister of Tribal Affairs, Mr Shri Arjun Munda will launch two Centers of Excellence for Tribal Welfare in collaboration between Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Art of Living (AoL) on October 27, 2020, through video conference.
The first initiative ‘Strengthening PRIs (Panchayati Raj Institutions)’ will be launched in 5 districts covering 30 Gram Panchayats and 150 villages of Jharkhand.
The initiative is done in creating awareness among elected representatives of PRI about various Tribal Acts and Rules and different welfare schemes available for these tribals and help the tribes getting access to these schemes.
The initiative is designed to create the youth volunteers among the tribal youths by giving them personality development training, hence creating the tribal leaders who will work for their community
The 2nd is about training 10000 tribal farmers in Aurangabad, Maharashtra on sustainable natural farming based on Go-Adharith farming techniques.
Farmers will get help in getting the Organic certification & the marketing opportunities will be made available to them to make each of them Atmanirbhar Tribal Farmers.
- Ministry of Tourism organises webinar on “Bundi: Architectural Heritage of a Forgotten Rajput Capital”
Ministry of Tourism organises a webinar on “Bundi: Architectural Heritage of a Forgotten Rajput Capital” under Dekho Apna Desh Webinar Series on October 24, 2020.
In shadows of former power centres of medieval India, are small historic towns largely unknown today beyond their immediate geographical context.
The considerable focus was on major historic imperial and provincial cities of India like Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Udaipur, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Lucknow etc.,
The other smaller cities and towns spread across vast unvisited hinterland of India have received less than deserved attention of tourists, enthusiasts and scholars.
The webinar was visualized by Charudatta Deshmukh, an Architect-Urban Planner with over 25 years of experience in managing planning and design of urban infrastructure and development projects.
Bundi:
Bundi former capital of Hada Rajput province known as Hadauti located in south-eastern Rajasthan. Bundi is known as City of step walls, blue city and also as Chotti Kashi.
The area around Bundi was inhabited by various local tribes, of which the Parihar Tribes, Meena was prominent. Years later the region was governed by Rao Deva, who took over Bundi from Jaita Meena in 1242, renaming the surrounding area as Haravati or Haroti. Rao Raja Chattar Sal became the ruler in 1632.
He constructed the temple of Keshavarao at Keshoraipatan and Chathra Mahal at Bundi.
The architectural heritage of Bundi can be classified in six typologies: -
Garh (Fort) - Taragarh
Garh Mahal (Royal Palace) - Bhj Mahal, Chattar Mahal, Ummed Mahal
Baori (Stepwell) - Khoj Darwaja kiBaori, BhawaldiBaori
Kund (Stepped tank) - Dhabhai ji ka Kund, Nagar Kund& Sagar Kund, Rani Kund
Sagar mahal (Lake Palace) - Moti Mahal, Sukh Mahal, Shikar Burj
Chhatri (Cenotaph) – Chaurasi
- A.P. Police bags 48 Skoch Awards
The Andhra Pradesh police added another feather in its cap by bagging 48 Skoch Awards for change in digital transformation and for offering better services to citizens. The awards were announced in the 67th Skoch Summit on Wednesday.
Of the 83 awards announced, Andhra Pradesh Police won 48, followed Kerala with nine awards, West Bengal and Maharashtra 4, Himachal Pradesh 3 and Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh two each. Remaining States won one award each.
In AP Police Headquarters, Technical Services wing bagged 16 awards, Communications department three, Police Welfare three and Law and Order wing won two awards. The Crime Investigation Department (CID) won four Skoch awards.
In police commissionerates and districts, Kurnool district police won three awards, Vijayawada Police Commissionerate three, Anantapur, Vizianagaram, Kadapa and Prakasam district police bagged two awards each.
Chittoor, Tirupati (Urban), Nellore, Guntur (Rural) and Guntur (Urban) and Krishna district police won one award each.
Anantapur police got the silver award for house quarantine monitoring, Vijayawada City Police won an award for Integrated Crime Prevention and Monitoring, Krishna district police was presented silver award for ‘Parivarthana’ programme, Nellore police was awarded for dynamic e-beat system, Chittoor police got the award for ‘Response to COVID-19’, Kurnool police won the award for ‘Court Monitoring System’, Guntur (Rural) Police received the award for ‘Renovate, Retrain and Reassure (RRR), Vizianagaram district police got silver award for ‘Assurance with Endurance – Service with Sacrifice’.
The AP Police Headquarters won three gold Skoch awards for ‘AP Police Seva Mobile App’, ‘Disha Mobile App’ and ‘Disha Integrated Crime Scene Management’.
- Lamborghini To Set Up Unit In AP
Another prestigious vehicle manufacturing unit is all set to be launched in Andhra Pradesh. Going into details, leading sports vehicle brand Lamborghini has decided to set up an electric vehicle manufacturing unit in the state.
Pune-based Kinetic Green has submitted proposals to set up a premium brand electric vehicle manufacturing unit in the state for use in golf and other sports. The Kinetic Green Board has approved the setting up of an electric vehicle manufacturing unit, battery charging stations, charging swapping and R&D units in the state with an investment of about Rs 1,750 crore. Earlier, SulajjaFirodia Motwani, Founder, CEO, Kinetic Green Energy and Power Solutions Limited, wrote a letter to Mekapati Gautam Reddy, Minister of State for Industries Andhra Pradesh.
Kinetic Green has submitted proposals to the state government to set up a unit on an area of about 50 acres in the port-based SEZ area. Nellore, Chittoor and Visakhapatnam districts are in the race as the port is based in the respective districts.
There is a discussion that Nellore and Chittoor districts have a chance in the situation. The unit will be set up to export Lamborghini vehicles as well as vehicles under the Kinetic Green brand name in addition to local requirements.
In the next ten years, 5 lakh electric vehicles will be sold in the state alone. It is estimated that this will reduce pollution and is considered as a huge mega project and asked for concessions accordingly.
The company has proposed to pay one per cent royalty on commercial use of technology developed in R&D set up in the state. Lamborghini has entered into an agreement with Kinetic Green in 2018 to manufacture and sell branded electric vehicles in the country.
- Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' virtually inaugurated the DST-IIEST Solar PV Hub at IIEST, Shibpur
DST-IIEST Solar PV Hub, has been established at Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST), Shibpur through a generous Research and Development by Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt of India, under the aegis of Centre of Excellence for Green Energy and Sensor System at IIEST, Shibpur.
To encourage and support the research by IIESTin the field of Solar Energy and Solar Cells, the DST has to create a central Hub with the name of “DST-IIEST Solar PV Hub”.
“DST-IIEST Solar PV Hub” has world-class research facilities and will act as the central node for research and developments.
Dissemination of knowledge in the field of solar energy, solar photovoltaics, including fabrication, characterization and testing of solar cells, solar PV Modules and also Solar PV systems, for the entire Eastern and North-Eastern region of India.
This Hub will help in aligning the national as well as local industries, research institutes, and start-ups with the “Make in India Mission” towards a smooth transition from fossil fuel energy to solar energy scenario.
A number of industries and research organizations in Eastern and North-Eastern regions are engaged in solar energy activities so they are greatly benefitted from this Research Unit.
Direct interactions with this DST-IIEST Solar Hub will enable the transfer of indigenous know-how and training for the fabrication, characterization and testing of solar cells and solar PV modules and systems as no such facility is available elsewhere in this region.
The students and research fellows of higher education institutes of West Bengal and the entire Eastern and Northeastern Region will get hands-on experience in this Solar Hub.
Well designed training programs offered by the Hub will also be an impetus to the Skill India Mission of the Government of India.
These training modules will be arranged to generate and strengthen the knowledge in the field of solar energy and solar photovoltaics so that in future they can contribute to indigenous development and usage of solar energy in India.
- All about National Conference on Vigilance and Anti Corruption
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the national conference on vigilance and anti-corruption on October 27, 2020. The theme of this year conference is "vigilant India, prosperous India". The inaugural session of the conference will be live-streamed and available on 'pmindiawebcast.nic.in' link.
The event was organized by the Central Bureau of Investigation focusing on Vigilance issues aimed at raising awareness and reaffirming India’s commitment to promotion of integrity and probity in public life through citizen participation.
The theme of this year’s conference is- Satark Bharat, Samruddha Bharat.
The conference would discuss the challenges in the investigation in foreign jurisdictions, Preventive Vigilance, Effective Auditing, Latest amendments to the Prevention of Corruption Act, Systemic improvements for financial inclusion and prevention of bank frauds, Capacity Building and Training, Emerging Trends in Economic Offences, Cyber Crimes & Transnational Organized Crime, among various Criminal Investigation Agencies.
This Conference will also bring policymakers and practitioners on a common platform enabling them to combat corruption through systemic improvements and preventive vigilance measures.
- Male government employees entitled to child care leave as single parents
A major reform brought by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) Centre has entitled male employees of the government to Child Care Leave (CCL).
The provision of Child Care Leave (CCL) will be available only for those male employees who happen to be “single male parent”, which may include male employees who are widowers or divorcees or even unmarried and may, therefore, be expected to take up the responsibility of child care as a single-handed parent.
An employee on Child Care Leave may now leave the head quarter with the prior approval of Competent Authority. In addition, the Leave Travel Concession (LTC) may be availed by the employee even if he is on Child Care Leave.
Child Care Leave can be granted at 100% of leave salary for the first 365 days and 80% of leave salary for the next 365 days.
In case of a disabled child, the condition of availing Child Care Leave up to the age of 22 years of the child has been removed and now Child Care Leave can be availed by a government servant for a disabled child of any age.
- Nine highway projects in Tripura
Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways will lay the foundation stones of nine National Highway projects in Tripura with a total length of nearly 262Km.
The projects, on completion, will provide faster and hassle-free inter-state and international connectivity to Bangladesh, and will be a major stride towards strengthening the tourism sector of the state.
The new projects will provide better connectivity, fast and safe movement of traffic to various tourist places, historical places and religious places in the entire state.
They are likely to generate a large number of employment and self-employment opportunities to the unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled manpower of the region.
The projects will reduce travel time and maintenance cost of the vehicles and saving of fuel.
The projects will enhance socio-economic conditions of the locality. These will improve transport of agricultural goods and access to greater markets, thereby reducing the cost of goods and services.
These will also create easy and speedy access to health care and emergency services.
The Projects include:
Jolaibari - Belonia of NH-108A
Kailashahar - Kumarghat of NH-208
Khayerpur to Amtali (Agartala bypass) of NH-08
Agartala – Khowai of NH-108B
Kailashahar to Kurti bridge of NH-208A
Manu-Simlung of NH-44A
RCC Bridge over river Muhuri& RCC Bridge over river Gomati
Strengthening of Churaibari-Agartala section with paved shoulder of NH-08
Geometric improvement on Churaibari-Agartala section of NH-44
- All about ‘Parampara Series 2020-National Festival of Music and Dance’
Vice President launches virtual festival of ‘Parampara Series 2020-National Festival of Music and Dance’.
This festival has been organized to coincide with the World Day for Audio-visual Heritage.
‘Parampara’ means ‘tradition’, the transmission of cultural treasure house from one generaion to the next.
The ‘Parampara Series 2020-National Festival of Music and Dance’ is organized by NatyaTarangini in partnership with the United Nations.
NatyaTarangini is organising the ‘Parampara Series’ continuously since past 23 years.
The festival of music and dance make lives more fulfilling by rejuvenating and energising. They bring harmony into lives and nourish inner spirit by dispelling gloom and despair.
India’s diverse art forms of dance, music, and drama represent our common civilizational philosophy and values like harmony, unity and solidarity.
There is also a distinct focus on devotion, spirituality and there is an entire gamut of expressions of nine ‘Rasas’ that constitute human existence.
- Schools, colleges to open in Andhra Pradesh from Nov 2
Schools and colleges will be opened in Andhra Pradesh from November 2 and classes will be conducted on alternate days, a government official said on 29th October, 2020.
Classes for 9th, 10th, Intermediate First Year (11th) and Intermediate Second Year (12th) will be held for half-day only.
All colleges for higher education will be conducted in rotation method. Classes for 6th, 7th and 8th standards will start from November 23. Classes will be held for half-day only.
The classes for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th standards will start from December 14. Classes will be held for half-day only, and on alternate days only. This schedule is applicable for all government and private educational institutes, as per the press statement.
- Dr. Harsh Vardhan digitally inaugurates Radiodiagnosis Facilities at Bathinda
Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan digitally inaugurated the Radio diagnosis Facilities at All India Institute of Medical Sciences(AIIMS), Bathinda.
He also inaugurated the MBBS Student Hostel.
AIIMS, Bathinda is an apex healthcare institution being established under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojna (PMSSY) by Government of India. It shall have a hospital with capacity of 750 beds which will include Emergency / Trauma Beds, AYUSH Beds, Private Beds and ICU Speciality& Super Speciality beds.
The setting up of new AIIMS at Bathinda will not only transform health education and training but will also address the shortfall of health care professionals in the region.
The new AIIMS will serve the dual purpose of providing super speciality health care to the population and also help to create a large pool of doctors and other health workers in this region.
The number of AIIMS has increased from 6 to 22, while another 75 existing institutions are planned for upgradation to provide quality tertiary healthcare services.
- India hosts meeting of SCO Ministers handling economy and foreign trade
India today hosted the 19th Meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Ministers responsible for Foreign Economy and Foreign Trade Activities.
The Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri Piyush Goyal said that the current crisis due to Covid-19 is a clarion call to the SCO countries to leverage the economic strength and explore partnerships that enhance trade and investment in the region.
India underlined the necessity to enhance intra SCO trade and investment to ensure speedy recovery
Its civilization and philosophical tradition shape every nation’s world view.
India’s ancient wisdom sees the world as one family - Vasudeva Kutumbakam,
The virtual meeting was attended by the Secretary-General of SCO and Ministers from, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
In the meeting, four documents were adopted.
Statement on the response to Covid-19- It reinforces the need for greater cooperation for access to medicines and facilitation of trade.
Statement on the Multilateral Trading System of Ministers of SCO Countries who are WTO Members-This statement highlights the importance of the rules-based multilateral negotiations.
Statement on SCO Cooperation on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)-It relates to the cooperation of intellectual property and include sharing information/experience on legislation and enforcement, cooperation in international organisations and other areas.
Action Plan for Implementation of MOU to stimulate cooperation within the framework of SCO in the field of MSMEs. It looks at several areas of cooperation among MSMEs, including the exchange of information, organisation of events and collaboration on research and capacity building.
All these outcomes of the meeting are significant milestones for the SCO solidarity.
- PM Modi to participate in Ekta Diwas programmes in Gujarat
Prime Minister to participate in the Ekta Diwas Celebrations at Kevadia, Gujarat on 31st October. Prime Minister will pay homage to Sardar Patel on his 145th birth anniversary on 31st October 2020.
The Prime Minister will participate at the Ekta Diwas Parade and administer the Rashtriya Ekta Pledge in Gujarat.
Police forces of Gujarat State and Central Reserve Armed Force, Border Security Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Central Industrial Security Forces and National Security Guards will participate in the Parade.
The Prime Minister will also witness a Rifle drill by female officers of CRPF.
As part of EktaDiwas celebrations, a cultural show of tribal heritage is also being organized at Kevadia and Indian Air Force will perform a Fly-past.
Thereafter, the Prime Minister will interact with and address 428 Officer Trainees belonging to various Civil Services currently undergoing the 95th Foundation Course at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie through videoconference as a culmination of Aarambh 2020.
The theme of Aarambh 2020 is “Governance in India @ 100” with three subthemes -
Ek Bharat - Shresth Bharat: Cultural diversity and synergy in India as an Influencer; Economic diversity and oneness as strength
AtmaNirbhar Bharat: in Energy, Health and building large systems for handling black swan events
Naveen Bharat: Research & Innovation in Education, Industry and Administration.
PM Shri Narendra Modi will inaugurate various projects on the 30th & 31st October 2020.
These include the flag-off of the Ekta Cruise Service to the Statue of Unity, the inauguration of the Ekta Mall and Children Nutrition Park there.
Shri Narendra Modi will also unveil the website of Statue of Unity in all the UN official languages and will launch the Kevadia App, at the Unity Glow Garden.
- Railways launches ‘Meri Saheli’ initiatives for safety of women passengers
The Indian Railways has started Meri Saheli initiatives for the safety of women passengers. A team of lady Sub-Inspectors and Constables are formed at the starting Railway Stations.
They identify the lady passengers and comfort them, especially those travelling alone. They are also informed about helpline number 182 in case of emergency.
The RPF team collects the seat numbers of the ladies and conveys them to stoppages en-route. The platform duty RPF personnel at the stopping stations en-route keep unobtrusive watch over the concerned coaches and berths and if the need arises, interact with the lady passengers.
RPF escort onboard also covers all the coaches/identified berths during its duty period. RPF teams at the destination collect the feedback from the identified women passengers. The input is then analyzed and corrective action, if any, is taken.
The “Meri Saheli" initiative was started as a pilot project in South Eastern Railway in September 2020. After getting encouraging response from female passengers, it was extended to all zones from October 17.
- Vivad se Vishwas scheme Payment deadline extended
The government notified extension of payment deadline for the direct tax legacy dispute resolution scheme (Vivad se Vishwas) by three months till March 31 next year (2021). The deadline for making declarations under the scheme will still be December 31 as stated earlier.
Vivad se Vishwas scheme was announced in the budget this fiscal to provide a mechanism for the resolution of pending Income Tax disputes.
As on November 30, 2019, about 4.83 lakh appeals pending at various levels involving tax arrears to the tune of about 9.32-lakh crore.
Under the Scheme, a taxpayer would be required to pay only the amount of the disputed taxes and will get a complete waiver of interest and penalty provided he pays by March 31, 2020. Those who avail this Scheme after March 31, 2020, will have to pay some additional amount.
To provide more time to taxpayers to settle disputes, earlier the date for filing the declaration and making payment without additional amount was extended from March 31, 2020, to June 30, 2020. This date was again extended to December 31, 2020.
- NITI Aayog Launches Electricity Access & Utility Benchmarking Report
NITI Aayog, Ministry of Power, Rockefeller Foundation, and Smart Power India launched the ‘Electricity Access in India and Benchmarking Distribution Utilities’ report today.
Based on a primary survey conducted across 10 states––representing about 65% of the total rural population of India and with a sample size of more than 25,000, including households, commercial enterprises and institutions––the report assesses 25 distribution utilities.
Aimed at capturing insights from both the demand (electricity customers) as well as supply side (electricity distribution utilities), the report seeks to:
Evaluate the status of electricity access in India across these states and distribution utilities along all dimensions that constitute meaningful access
Benchmark utilities’ capacity to provide electricity access and identify the drivers of sustainable access
Develop recommendations for enhancing sustainable electricity access
Key findings of the report:
As much as 92% of customers reported the overall availability of electricity infrastructure within 50 metres of their premises; however, not all have connections, the primary reason being the distance of households from the nearest pole.
Overall, 87% of the surveyed customers have access to grid-based electricity. The remaining 13% either use non-grid sources or don’t use any electricity at all.
The hours of supply have improved significantly across the customer categories to nearly 17 hours per day.
Nearly 85% of customers reported to have a metered electricity connection.
Access to electricity is observed in 83% of household customers.
A satisfaction index was created to assess the overall satisfaction level of customers with utility services. The study suggested that a total of 66% of those surveyed were satisfied 74% of customers in urban areas and 60% in rural areas.
- MHA designates 18 as ‘terrorists’ under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has designated 18 individuals, all Pakistan based, as “terrorists” under the UAPA Act, 2019.
The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act, 2019 was passed by the Parliament in August 2019. It amends the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
The latest UAPA Act empowers the central government to designate an individual a "terrorist" if they are found committing, preparing for, promoting, or involved in the act of terror.
The 1967 UAPA law required an investigating officer to take prior permission of the Director-General of Police of a state for conducting raids, and seizing properties that are suspected to be linked to terrorist activities.
The amendment act removes this requirement if the investigation is conducted by an officer of the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The investigating officer only requires sanction from the Director-General of NIA.
The 1967 law specifies that only officers of the rank of Deputy Superintendent or Assistant Commissioner of Police of the NIA shall have the power to investigate offences under the UAPA law. The new act allows NIA officers of Inspector rank to carry out investigations.
- PM Modi lauds beneficiaries of scheme for street vendors
PM Modi lauded beneficiaries of the PM Street Vendors Atmanirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme, and also most of the beneficiaries were repaying their loans on time. So far, 24.76 lakh applications have been received, of which 12.37 lakh have been sanctioned, and over 5 lakh loans have been disbursed.
The Scheme was launched on June 1, 2020, by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for providing affordable Working Capital loans to street vendors to resume their livelihoods that have been affected due to Covid-19 lockdown.By the Scheme, vendors can avail a working capital loan of up to Rs. 10,000, which is repayable in monthly instalments in the tenure of 1 year. The loans would be without collateral.
On timely/ early repayment of the loan, an interest subsidy @ 7% per annum will be credited to the bank accounts of beneficiaries through Direct Benefit Transfer on a quarterly basis. There will be no penalty on early repayment of the loan. The Scheme promotes digital transactions through cashback incentives up to an amount of Rs. 100 per month.
The scheme targets to benefit over 50 lakh street vendors. The duration of the Scheme is till March 2022.
The lending institutions under the Scheme include Scheduled Commercial Banks, Regional Rural Banks, Small Finance Banks, Cooperative Banks, NBFCs, Microfinance institutions and Self Help Group banks.
- Cabinet approves Externally Aided Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project
The Union Cabinet approved the Phase II and Phase III of the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) which aims to strengthen 736 dams in 19 states, including those managed by Centre’s Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB).
The aim of the project is to improve the safety and operational performance of selected dams across the country, along with institutional strengthening with system wide management approach.
12 dams in Punjab, managed by the state government, are among the total dams identified for the project.
The dams included in the project consist of those managed by the central agencies and the ones managed locally by the state governments concerned.
The dams included were identified by the respective state governments.
The World Bank (WB) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will provide assistance for the project.
It will be implemented over a period of 10 years duration in two phases, each of six years duration with two years overlapping from April 2021 to March 2031.
Objectives
To improve the safety and performance of selected existing dams and associated in a sustainable manner.
To strengthen the dam safety institutional set-up in participating states as well as at central level
To explore the alternative incidental means at few of selected dams to generate the incidental revenue for sustainable operation and maintenance of dams.
To achieve the objectives, DRIP has following components:
Rehabilitation and improvement of dams and associated appurtenances
Dam safety institutional strengthening in participating States and Central agencies
Exploration of alternative incidental means at few of selected dams to generate the incidental revenue for sustainable operation and maintenance of dams.
- All about Krishi Upad Mandi (Amendment) Bill 2020
Chhattisgarh Assembly passed an amendment Bill to invalidate the Centre’s recently-notified agriculture legislations in one day session.
The Assembly passed the Chhattisgarh Krishi Upad Mandi (Amendment) Bill 2020. It gives strength to the state government:
To regulate all agricultural produce markets
Introduces a new concept of deemed markets which includes cold storages and silos
Makes provision for establishment of an electronic trading place under the state control
Makes it mandatory for a purchaser to submit his records and stocks for inspection
Introduces jail term extending upto six months for violation of the legislation
The state government has introduced the concept of deemed market and given state agencies control over these. Deemed markets would include cold storage, silos, warehouse, electronic trading and transaction platforms.
With the amendment, the state government hopes to limit the entry of any corporate or private entity as it would control all these operations.
If a private entity enters into agreement with farmers, it would have to submit its accounts and stocks to state scrutiny.
Another amendment has also given the state government the power to have an electronic trading platform where the farmers of the state or another state can buy or sell their agricultural produce. This neutralises the Centre’s provision of agriculture trade without boundaries.
The state government may, establish an electronic trading platform for the sale of notified agriculture produce, farmer/Seller should sell his produce to the local market as well as other markets of the state and traders of other states through a transparent auction process on the basis of quality to get better price and timely online payment.
- Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2020
The findings of the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2020 (Rural) Wave 1 – the first-ever phone-based survey – come amid the Covid-19 outbreak, which led to a spike in digital learning.
ASER 2020 was conducted in 26 states and four Union Territories.
The survey covered 118,838 households, where phone calls were made to parents of children aged between five and 16 years.
Altogether, 8,963 teachers’ responses were also recorded in the survey.
The report aims to provide reliable estimates of children’s enrolment and basic learning levels for each district and state in India
Around 50% of the teachers surveyed in the rural areas did not receive any form of training and 68.8% received perfunctory training based on brief instructions.
As compared to data from ASER 2018, data from ASER 2020 show a small shift in enrolment from private to government schools, across all grades and among both girls and boys.
The proportion of boys enrolled in government schools rose from 62.8% in 2018 to 66.4% in 2020.
The proportion of girls enrolled in government schools rose from 70% to 73% during the same period.
ASER 2020 shows that 5.5 per cent children are not currently enrolled for the 2020-21 school year, up from 4 per cent in 2018. This difference is the sharpest among the youngest children (ages 6 to 10), possibly because they have not yet secured admission to school. While 1.8 per cent children in this age group were not enrolled in 2018, that has spiked to 5.3 per cent.
Among enrolled children, 61.8 per cent live in families that own at least one smartphone.
Almost 75 per cent of children said they received some form of learning support from family members, with older siblings playing a key role.
ASER 2020 explore the following areas
Children's enrollment
Children not currently enrolled
Household resources
Learning support at home
Access to learning materials
- PFC and JKPCL signs agreement for Liquidity Infusion for Jammu and Kashmir UT
Government-owned Power Finance Corporation Ltd (PFC), India's leading NBFC, has sanctioned Rs.2790 crore to Jammu Kashmir Power Corporation ltd (JKPCL) for clearing its outstanding dues.
Highlights:
PFC and JKPCL signed and exchanged an agreement for Liquidity Infusion Scheme under "Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan" for the Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory.
The money sanctioned under the scheme will be used to clear the outstanding dues of CPSU, GENCOs & TRANSCOs, IPPs and RE Generators on March 31 2020.
The exchange agreement was signed in the presence of Shri RohitKansal, Principal Secretary, PDDalong with senior officers from JKPDD, KPDCL, JPDCL, PFC & REC.
In May, the Government announced an Rs.90,000 crore liquidity infusion for discoms under which these utilities would get loans at economical rates from PFC and REC.
This scheme was an initiative of the Government to help gencos to remain afloat. Later, the liquidity infusion package was increased to Rs.1.2 lakh crore.
- Gov Tech- Thon 2020 to be held from 30th October
Government of India's NIC (National Informatics Centre), IEEE Computer Society (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) and Oracle Corporation will organize Gov Tech- Thon 2020 commencing from October 30, 2020, to November 1 2020.
Highlights:
Gov Tech-Thon 2020, a pan India 36 hours virtual Hackathon to be organized from October 30 to November 1, 2020.
It is launched under the Government of India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
The virtual hackathon is open to students, working professionals, startups, freelance technologists, faculty, and other IT service firms in India.
During the hackathon, participants will receive mentorship and advice from technical experts from NIC, IEEE and Oracle, as well as senior domain experts from the Ministries of Agriculture, Education and Transport Departments, Government of India.
Participants would be given access to the latest tools from Oracle, Oracle Autonomous Database, built-in and easy-to-use cloud security. This technology will help them to develop prototypes that are practical and scalable.
- Narendra Singh Tomar Inaugurated Food and Agri Week 2020
Union Minister, Narendra Singh Tomar, Food Processing Industries Minister, Food and Agri Week 2020)
Union Minister, Narendra Singh Tomar, the Food Processing Industries Minister on October 16, 2020, inaugurated the India-International Food &Agri Week virtually. The focus of the Food and Agro Tech will be on the use and benefit of the technology in the field of food and agriculture sector.
India - International Food & Agri Week is being organized from 16th to October 22 2020. CII in association with the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare, Ministry of Fisheries & Animal Husbandry and Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Government of India, is organizing its first-ever Virtual CII Agro& Food Tech: India - International Food &Agri on CII HIVE – virtual platform with an intent to create a platform for the benefit of the stakeholders involved in the agriculture & allied sectors.
Highlights
As per Govt. data, Indian food processing sector is 32% of India's food market.
The focus of the Food &Agro Tech will be on the use and benefit of the technology in the field of food and agriculture sector to increase the income of the farmers.
The focus of this sector is in the line of the goal set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to double the payment of the farmers by 2022.
Proper marketing and the latest technology can lead to more significant development of the agriculture sector.
The GDP growth rate in Agriculture is 3.4%, and this sector has contributed hugely to India's economic growth even during Covid times.
MoFPI has started an awareness campaign named 'Anna Devo Bhava'to mark this occasion.
The celebration aims in increasing awareness about the value of the food and also focus on reducing food wastage
Under AatmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, MoFPI has started PMFME (PM Formalisation of Micro food Enterprises) scheme with an outlay of Rs 20,000 crores. This scheme will support 2 lakh micro food processing units with credit-linked subsidy and would focus on supporting the SHGs, FPOs and cottage industry.
The 14th edition of the Agro and Food Tech is an appropriate platform to showcase the products, services and technology available in the agriculture and related sectors.
PM KisanSampada Scheme:
MoFPI started PM KisanSampada Scheme (PMKSY) for modern infrastructure with efficient supply chain management from farm gate to retail outlets. MFP scheme is an essential element of PMKSY whose objective is to link agricultural production to the market by bringing together the farmers, processors and retailers. As of now, 37 MFPs have been approved out of which 20 have begun operations. Ministry has expanded the Operation greens scheme from TOP to TOTAL.
Under this scheme, Ministry will provide 50% subsidy for transportation of eligible crops from surplus production cluster to consumption centre for six months and Hiring of appropriate storage facilities for suitable crops (for a maximum period of 3 months)
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh presented Raksha Mantri Trophy
Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh gives away Raksha Mantri Trophy for Best Command Hospitals Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) for the year 2019 on October 16, 2020.
The Defence Secretary attended the award function besides senior service and civilian dignitaries.
Highlights:
Command Hospital (Air Force) Bengaluru has backed the Best Command Hospital for the year 2019.
Command Hospital (Eastern Command) Kolkata has backed as the Second Best Command Hospital for the year 2019.
AFMS was acknowledged for its incredible services from combat medical support to troops deployed in operational roles.
AFMS has provided its services at mid-zonal, zonal, and tertiary care hospitals of its.
The Raksha Mantri Trophy was first instituted in the year 1989
The Raksha Mantri Trophy is to recognize excellence in healthcare services provided by Command Hospitals of the AFMS and to make a spirit of healthy competition among them.
Highlights of Ministers of Justice Summit of SCO
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), Union Minister, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad)
The 17th Meeting of Ministers of Justice of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Member States was hosted by Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Law & Justice, Communication and Electronics & Information Technology.
Highlights:
During the meeting, Minister highlighted the initiatives taken by the Indian Government under the leadership of Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for providing affordable and easy access to justice for all.
Pro Bono Legal Services is launched, and this helps to provide free legal aid to marginalised sections of the society.
Tele-Law services initiated in 2017, so far 3.44 Lakh free legal consultations have been given to poor people through video conferencing.
E-Courts projects with Video-Conferencing facility and rolling out of Virtual Courts, as part of Government’s successful transformative change. During COVID19, pandemic over 25 Lakh hearing through video conference have taken place at various courts of India, out of which 9,000 virtual hearings have taken place at the Supreme Court (SC) alone.
Minister urged the SCO Member States to promote an exchange of ideas, best practices and experiences in identified areas through the platform.
The SCO Member States, discussed the importance of promoting alternative dispute resolution mechanism.
Key features of the joint statement:
To strengthen the work on the implementation of the Agreement on Cooperation between the Ministries of Justice of the SCO Member States.
To continue the work on the implementation of the Action Plans of the working groups of experts on forensic activities and legal services for 2018-2020, as well as to develop Action Plans for 2021-2023.
Consider organising exchange programs for representatives of the ministries (law and justice of the SCO member-states) to study the best practices in alternative dispute resolution.
To continue discussing the parties' positions on the issues of mutual legal assistance and development of legal services in accordance with national legislation.
Actively develop cooperation with the ministries of justice of the SCO observer and dialogue partner states.
Continue efforts to develop an online platform for the exchange of legal information, taking into account national laws.
- India ranks 94 in Global Hunger Index 2020
India took place 94th place among 107 nations in the Global Hunger Index 2020 and is in the 'serious' hunger category with experts blaming low implementation processes, lack of effective monitoring, siloed approach in tackling malnutrition and poor performance by large states behind the low ranking.
Highlights:
In 2019, India's rank was 102 out of 117 countries.
The neighbouring countries, Bangladesh ranked 75th, Myanmar ranked 78th and Pakistan ranked 88th is in the 'serious' hunger category.
Nepal took 73rd and Sri Lanka in 64th position are in 'moderate' hunger category.
17 nations, including China, Belarus, Turkey, Cuba, Ukraine, and Kuwait, shared the top rank with GHI scores.
According to the report, 14% of India's population is undernourished.
The country recorded a 37.4% stunting rate among children under five and a wasting rate of 17.3 %. The under-five mortality rate is at 3.7 %.
The large states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh need to be improved because the national average is affected a lot by these states.
GHI score is calculated on four indicators
Undernourishment;
Child Wasting=children under the age of five who have low weight for their height reflecting acute undernutrition;
Child Stunting = children under the age of five those have low height for their age reflecting chronic undernutrition.
child mortality = mortality rate of children under the age of five.
- All about MISSION SHAKTI
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath issues directions for including Bhojpuri, Bundelkhand dialects in helplines.
Highlights:
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed that the facility of speaking in Bhojpuri and Bundelkhand should be made available on various helpline numbers, observing that women would feel more comfortable communicating in regional dialects.
The second day of Mission Shakti, is to interact with women village pradhans, BDC members, corporators, heads of urban local bodies, self-help groups and women teachers, through virtual mo
The helpline numbers such as 1090, 181, 1076 and 112 should be publicised.
The pradhan of Ratsar Kala Garhwar village in Ballia, said that there should be a facility of speaking Bhojpuri and Bundelkhand dialects on helpline numbers such as 1090, 112, 181.
This will help the women to feel comfortable speaking in their regional dialect.
There is a need to teach the feeling 'gaanvkibeti, sabkibeti'.
These are our culture and values, and this should reverberate from villages to cites.
The Centre and state government are making consistent efforts to ensure women security and honour, but the real success will be achieved by cooperation and awareness of women.
If the public representative is not aware, then the schemes fall prey to corruption.
- Prime Minister to inaugurate India Energy Forum by CERAWeek
PM Shri Narendra Modi will inaugurate the annual India Energy Forum by CERAWeek that will be held between October 26 to October 28 2020.
Highlights:
The forum is in its fourth year and is hosted by IHS Markit.
The event will convene an international group of speakers and delegates as well as a community of a thousand delegates from India and regional energy companies, energy-related industries, institutions and governments,".
The event’s speakers include Energy minister,Senior industry Executives and leading national and international energy experts.
Key topics to be explored will include:
Impact of the pandemic on India's future energy demand
Securing supplies for India’s economic growth
What does energy transition and the climate agenda mean for India?
Natural Gas in India’s Energy Mix: What’s the path?
Refining & petrochemicals: Strategies midst surplus
The pace of innovation: Biofuel, hydrogen, CCS, electric vehicles and digital transformation
Market and regulatory reform: What is ahead?
- ADB, India sign $177 million loans for state road improvements in Maharashtra
The Government of India (GoI) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on October 15, 2020 signed a $177 million loan to upgrade 450 kilometres (km) of state highways and major district roads in the state of Maharashtra.
Highlights:
This project of ADB will improve connectivity between rural areas and urban centres in that state enabling rural communities for better access markets, employment opportunities and services.
Improved mobility will help in development and livelihood opportunities outside of the state's major urban centres to second-tier cities and towns, thus reducing income disparities.
The project will also improves road safety measures by developing a road safety audit framework that will protect vulnerable groups such as the elderly, women, and children, following the international best practice.
One feature of the project is to update the road maintenance system by supporting 5-year performance-based maintenance obligations to contractors to sustain quality & service levels.
Totally the project will upgrade 2 major district roads and 11 state highways, with a combined length of 450 km and improve connectivity to various transport services and areas.
The project will also focus on training the Maharashtra Public Works Department project staff to build their capacity in climate change adaptation and also in disaster-resilient features in road design, road maintenance planning and road safety.
- Ayushman Sahakar Fund
Union Minister of State for Agriculture launches, National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) Ayushman Sahakar Fund for creation of healthcare infrastructure by cooperatives.
Scheme will assists cooperatives in creation of healthcare infrastructure in the country formulated by the apex autonomous development finance institution under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
AYUSHMAN SAHAKAR scheme would revolutionize the way healthcare delivery takes place in rural areas.
Details
NCDC would extend term loans to prospective cooperatives to the tune of Rs.10,000 Crore in the coming years.
There are about 52 hospitals across the country run by cooperatives. The NCDC fund would give a boost to provision of healthcare services by cooperatives.
NCDC’s scheme aligns itself with the focus of the National Health Policy, 2017, covering the health systems in all their dimensions- investments in health, organization of healthcare services, access to technologies, development of human resources, encouragement of medical pluralism, affordable health care to farmers etc.
Ayushman Sahakar specifically covers establishment, modernization, expansion, repairs, renovation of hospital and healthcare and education infrastructure.
Any Cooperative Society with suitable provision in its byelaws to undertake healthcare related activities would be able to access the NCDC fund. NCDC assistance will flow either through the State Governments/ UT Administrations or directly to the eligible cooperatives.
The scheme also provides working capital and margin money to meet operational requirements. The scheme provides interest subvention of one percent to women majority cooperatives.
NCDC was set up under an Act of Parliament in 1963 for promotion and development of cooperatives. Since 1963, it has extended around Rs.1.60 lakh crore as loans to cooperatives.
- Disengagement of three autonomous institutions
The Finance Ministry has recommended that the Ministry of Environment Forests (MoEF) and Climate Change “disengage” from five autonomous institutions working under it and merge two others.
Institutions proposed to be disengaged from MoEF are the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM), Bhopal, Indian Council of Forest Research and Education, Indian Plywood Industries Research and Training Institute, CPR Environmental Education Centre, and the Centre of Environment Education.
It will reduce the 16 autonomous organisations under the ministry to nine.
Background
Supreme Court constituted a high-powered committee under the chairmanship of Ravi Chopra to determine the impact of the Char Dham road project on the Himalayan eco-system.
Integrated Coastal Management to be merged with the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management. They both perform similar roles of promoting coastal management. Merger will avoid duplication of activities and will attain economies of scale.
Merging of Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History also proposed, to merge with the MoEF.
It also recommended that the Indian Council for Forest and Research Education, GB Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment and Sustainable Development and statutory bodies such as Central Pollution Control Board, Central Zoo Authority (CZA), National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), National Biodiversity Authority continue to function under and with the financial support of MoEF.
This is not a Cabinet decision; it is simply a recommendation and an exercise which takes place every couple of years.
Memorandum
‘Disengagement’ will involve two aspects - phasing out government support to the institution in a time-bound manner, disassociating from the management of the institutions and allowing the relevant industry/stakeholders to run them.
For Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM), the recommendations say that “they may be converted into an autonomous institution or deemed university".
The recommendations further add that the central government should withdraw from these bodies within a three year timeline and a gradual budget reduction of 25% each year.
The department of expenditure’s report said that the CPR Environmental Education Centre (CPREEC) may be disengaged completely from the MoEF as it has received no government grants during last three financial years and generates substantial funds on its own through sale of publications.
A similar recommendation was made for the Centre for Environment Education which, too, hasn’t received any government funding since 2017.
For the Indian Plywood Industries Research and Training Institute, the recommendations were that the institute may be disengaged from the central government "with a three year timeline and a gradual budget reduction of 25% each year as it is largerly an industry-driven organisation catering to the requirements of the plywood & panel industry.
The report further recommends that the Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (Coimbatore) which is under the MoEF should be “merged with the regular functioning of the ministry.
The Society of Integrated Coastal Management and National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management, two other bodies under MoEF can be merged to form a single body which would continue to work under the ministry.
The Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education in Dehradun and GB Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment in Almora may continue to function as they are.
- India's 1st Multi-modal Logistic Park (MMLPs) in Assam
Central Minister for Road Transport & Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari will virtually lay the foundation stone for the first-ever multi-modal logistic park (MMLPs) in Assam.
Highlights:
Shri Nitin Gadkari laid the foundation for India's 1st Multi-modal Logistic Park (MMLPs) at Jogighopa in Assam.
Rs 693.97 crores park will provide direct air, road, rail and waterways connectivity to the people.
The Project is developed under the BharatmalaPariyojana of the Government of India (GoI).
Chief Minister of Assam, Shri SarbanandaSonowalpresided over the virtual function, which was attended by Union Ministers of State Dr Jitendra Singh, Gen (Retd) Dr V K Singh and Shri Rameshwar Teli; Ministers from the Assam State, Members of Parliaments, MLAs and senior officers from the Centre and the State were also present on occasion.
Shri Nitin Gadkari ministry, envisages developing of 35 Multi-modal Logistics Parks (MMLPs) in the country.
The 1st such MMLP is being made by National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL) in Jogighopa of Assam, which will be connected to the road, rail, air & waterways.
This is being developed in 317-acre area along the river Brahmaputra.
The 1st phase of construction is scheduled to be completed by 2023.
The project will provide direct or indirect employment to nearly 20 lakh youth in the State.
Ministry has plans for National Highway works worth Rs 80,000 crore in Assam.
- Rajnath Singh unveils new version of DRDO's procurement manual to engage the private sector in defence R&D
The government has announced its vision to make India a global hub of defence manufacturing and initiated a series of reform measures to encourage the domestic defence industry.
Highlights:
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh unveiled a new version of the procurement manual of the premier military research institute DRDO featuring simplified procedures for the involvement of the private sector in various research and development projects.
The new version manual has been introduced out to encourage the participation of private industry, including start-ups & micro, small and medium enterprises in defence research in sync with the government's 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' (self-reliant India) initiative.
The procurement manual guides all deals, projects and research initiatives in DRDO.
The procurement manual-2020 will facilitate faster execution of R&D projects/programmes.
The modified features in the manual will go a long way to facilitate the participation of industry in various R&D projects.
The salient features of the new manual include an increase of threshold limit for advance payment, placement of an order on second lowest bidder (L2) in case lowest bidder L1 backs out and 'bid security declaration option' for depositing earnest money.
The previous revision of the procurement manual of the DRDO was last carried out in 2016.
India is the most popular lucrative markets for global defence giants and it was figured among the top 3 importers of military hardware in the world for the last 8 years.
The Indian armed forces are decided to spend around USD 130 billion in capital procurement in the next five years.
The government is eyeing a turnover of Rs 1.75 lakh crore (USD 25 billion) in defence manufacturing by 2025.
- ECI forms a committee to examine issues concerning expenditure limits
Election Commission has formed a committee which includes Sh. Harish Kumar, Sh. Umesh Sinha, Secretary-General and DG (Expenditure) Ex. IRS and DG (Investigation), to examine the issues concerning expenditure limit for a candidate given an increase in the number of electors and the rise in Cost Inflation Index and other factors.
Highlights:
The Ministry of Law & Justice on October 19, 2020 has notified an amendment in Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961 enhancing the expenditure limit by 10%. This 10% will be applicable with immediate effect in ongoing elections.
In last 6 years, the limit has not increased inspite of increase in the electorate from 834 million to 910 million in 2019 to 921 million now. Cost Inflation Index in this period has increased from 220 to 280 in 2019 to 301 now.
The committee assesses the change in several electors across the States/Union Territories & its bearing on expenditure.
The committee assesses the change in the Cost Inflation Index and its bearing on the pattern of expenditure incurred by the candidates in recent elections.
The committee seeks views/inputs of the political parties and other stakeholders examine other factors which may have bearings on expenditure.
The constituted committee will submit its report within 120 days of its constitution.
- A National Symposium and Exhibition on Memories of 22 October 1947
A National Symposium and Exhibition on ‘Memories of 22 October 1947’ is being organised by the National Museum Institute of History of Art, Conservation and Museology(NMI) in Srinagar. The two-day symposium will begin on October 22, 2020.
Highlights:
October 22, 1947 has marked Indian history with evidence of betrayal and a legacy of bravery. On August 15, 1947 India attained Independence after being subjugated to the colonial regime for almost 200 years.
The symposium is an attempt to deliberate upon the records and history of this deceitful attack and the subsequent victory of India.
Exhibition on the 'Memories of 22 Oct 1947' includes graphic panels & videos showcasing a chronology of events as well as prominent narratives of the invasion on October 22, 1947, & subsequent unfolding of actions.
The exhibition panels displays – Treaties like The Treaty of Amritsar, The Treaty of Lahore, Economic Blockade of Kashmir, The Popular Will of 1947, 1947- Towards Accession, The Invaders Backed by Pakistan, Instrument of Accession, Key Dates, The Gilgit Game, People's Militia, Plunder in Muzaffarabad, Baramulla, The Church Attack, Pakistani Militia Leaders, Maqbool Sherwani, the Hero of Baramulla.
The National Symposium & Exhibition on the 'Memories of 22 Oct 1947' will outline shapes and contours of a future museum on the historical theme.
- NFL along with CCI organizes training programme for farmers in Rajasthan
National Fertilizers Limited (NFL) partnering with Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) organized a one day farmer’s training programme in Agriculture Research Centre, Shri Ganganagar, Rajasthan on October 20, 2020.
Highlights:
A total number of 75 progressive farmers from Sriganganagar, Bikaner and Hanumangarh districts participated in this programme. During the programmed agricultural scientists educated the farmers regarding the latest technologies.
Scientists gave solutions to the different issues being faced by the cotton growing farmers. The officials from CCI and NFL advised them to use the latest machinery to increase production and to improve the quality of the crop.
NFL distributed 75 cotton plucking machines free of cost to the participating farmers and also emphasized that the moisture in the cotton crop should be kept to a minimum to take good prices from the market.
The farmers were encouraged to use the fertilizers in their crops based on soil test reports and also stressed on the balances of different fertilizer in different crops grown by the farmers so that the expenditure on fertilizer may be curtailed and income of farmers may be increased.
- Regulatory framework for REITs and InvITs in IFSC
The IFSCA - International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), to develop the financial products and services in the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City International Financial Services Centre (GIFT IFSC) has prescribed the regulatory framework for Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) & Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) in IFSC.
Highlights:
IFSCA has permitted global participants that are REITs &InvITs incorporated in FATF compliant jurisdictions to list on the stock exchanges in GIFT IFSC. InvITs have been allowed to raise funds through private placements also.
The REITs &InvITs registered in IFSC have been permitted to invest in real estate assets and infrastructure projects, respectively in IFSC.
The REITs and InvITs that are listed in any of the permissible jurisdictions other than IFSC (currently USA, Japan, South Korea, United Kingdom excluding British Overseas Territories, France, Germany, Canada and India) or India have been permitted to list and trade on the recognised stock exchanges in IFSC, subject to compliance with their respective laws of the home jurisdiction.
The listing of REITs and InvITs in IFSC shall be following the requirements of the stock exchanges in IFSC.
The entities in IFSC can participate and benefit from the growth of real estate and infrastructure sector in international jurisdictions.
- Gadkari launched unique Khadi footwear; KVIC targets Rs 5,000 crore business
Union Minister for Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises(MSME), Nitin Gadkari launched India’s first-ever high-quality Khadi Fabric Footwear, designed by Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) through Video Conference.
Highlights:
These footwear are made of Khadi fabric like Silk, Cotton and Wool.
Union Minister for MSME also launched the online sale of Khadi footwear through KVIC’s e-portal “www.khadiindia.gov.in”.
Khadi fabric footwear had a high potential of capturing the international market and would create additional employment and higher income for our artisans.
Khadi footwear is a unique product. International quality and use of fine fabric like Patola Silk, Banarasi Silk, Cotton, Denim would attract the youngsters who can purchase it online. These are cost-effective,”
KVIC has to develop alternatives to leather accessories like ladies’ handbags, purses, wallet in handcrafted Khadi fabric that has a huge potential in foreign markets.
Khadi fabric footwear is environment-friendly and skin-friendly, and also it reflects the hard work of Khadi artisans that has been put in to make fabric for this footwear.
Khadi fabric footwear has a major share in the footwear industry, and it will help in reviving the country’s economy.
The footwear has been launched in 15 designs for ladies and 10 designs for men.
Exquisite Khadi products like Patola Silk of Gujarat, Banarasi Silk, Madhubani-printed Silk of Bihar, Khadi Denim, Tussar Silk, Matka - Katia Silk, a variety of Cotton fabric, Tweed Wool and Khadi Poly Vastra have been used to make the footwear unique and trendy.
These footwear available in a wide range of designs, colours and prints and these footwear have been designed to suit clothing for all purposes - formal, casual and festive occasions.
The Khadi footwear price ranges from Rs 1,100 to Rs 3,300 per pair.
The idea behind launching Khadi Fabric Footwear was to tap the international market.
- Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan virtually addresses World Bank- IMF annual meeting 2020
Central Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr Harsh Vardhan, virtually addressed the World Bank- International Monetary Fund (IMF) annual meeting.
Highlights:
The theme of the meeting was “Unleashing the South Asian Century through Human Capital for All” and “Investing in Covid-19 Vaccines and Primary Healthcare Delivery System"
India has been following a pre-emptive, proactive, and graded response characterised by a “Whole of Society, Whole of Government” approach.
Innovation, ability and agility of the private sector have supported the efforts to fight COVID-19 in a major way.
PPEs, N95 masks, Oxygen, ventilators, diagnostic tests kits were developed.
Medical infrastructure seen exponential growth, from having one lab in March, 2020 to around 2000 laboratories as on date with nearly half of the labs were from the private sector. The same is for dedicated ICU facilities & isolation centres.
India is making use of Information Technology (IT) in virtually every aspect of COVID management- AarogyaSetu app and ITIHAS, cellular-based tracking technology has been used for surveillance and identification of potential clusters, RT-PCR app for testing, facility app for managing information on admitted patients, all integrated with a single COVID portal.
AarogyaSetu App is currently being used by more than 170 million Indians making it one of the most downloaded apps in the world
The present research agenda for COVID19 has been to provide an affordable vaccine as well as to ensure its equitable distribution
Currently, three Indian pharma companies in partnership with foreign/domestic research institutes are expediting the trials of the vaccine.
Under the leadership of our Honourable Prime Minister, we have constituted a National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration which is working on all aspects, as well as designing innovative approaches to distribute vaccines in rural and remote regions.
India has made huge strides in improving the health of our people in the last two decades
And now, India's will be critical to fighting COVID-19 especially when it comes to making vaccines at large scale for the whole world.
International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) prescribes regulatory framework for REITs and InvITs in IFSC
- ICMR approves COVIRAP, covid-19 test
The Indian Council of Medical Research recently approved the covid-19 test called COVIRAP. Developed by researchers at the IIT- Kharagpur, is a low-cost portable unit for rapid diagnostics of coronavirus, which produces results in under an hour.
Details
The testing facility can be housed anywhere and an air-conditioned lab is not required.
The COVIRAP method requires very little equipment, and is ideal for use in rural areas with limited facilities. It can be operated by rural youth with minimal training.
This new testing method implements a highly reliable and accurate molecular diagnostic procedure, conducted in an ultra-low-cost portable device unit and costs only around ?500 per test.
Each test requires a kit, three master-mixes which are made by the team. After several steps of mixing and heating, an image of the testing strips is grabbed by a smartphone camera of a custom-made mobile application, and a definite result is produced.
Their test results have confirmed that the method and results are of highest standards and are comparable to high-end RT-PCR tests.
It can also check for other diseases, including influenza, malaria, tuberculosis, and dengue, among others.
- 1st ever Ministerial Meeting of G-20 Anti-Corruption Working Group
India reiterated its commitment for the eradication of corruption under Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Speaking at the 1st ever Ministerial Meeting of G-20 Anti-Corruption Working Group.
Highlights:
India is bound to the policy of zero tolerance against corruption and unaccounted money.
India's Prevention of Corruption Act, which the government amended after 30 years in 2018 to introduce several new provisions including criminalizing the Act of giving bribe also in addition to taking a bribe and at the same time putting in place an effective deterrence for those actions by individuals as well as the corporate entities.
The present Act focuses on checking corruption in big places & striking hard against corporate bribery.
The commitment of government is to bring in more transparency, more citizen centricity and more accountability in governance and is indicated by its decisive initiatives to operationalize the institution of the Lokpal in the country to check corruption at high places.
It seeks to establish a vicarious liability so that the actual bribe giver is also exposed.
The world is presently combating serious emerging challenges of Fugitive Economic Offenders and Assets which flee across national jurisdiction.
India’s Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 empowers authorities for non-conviction based attachments and confiscation of proceeds of crime and properties as well as assets of a Fugitive Economic Offender.
Lauding the efforts of G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group to organize the event under the shadow of COVID-19, even the COVID cannot deter our fight and crusade to eradicate corruption.
Dr. Jitendra Singh congratulated the Presidency Saudi Arabia for organizing the G20 Ministerial Meeting on its 10th Anniversary year and wished that the world will come together for a steadfast and a strong movement to combat the menace of corruption.
- All about Jagananna Vidya Kanuka Scheme
The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has launched Jagan Anna Vidya kanuka scheme.
Jagananna Vidya Kanuka
Jagananna Vidya Kanuka kits containing three pairs of uniforms, a school bag, a pair of shoes and two pairs of socks, school belt and books.
Students from classes 1 to 10 in government schools will get the kits.
The stitching charges of the uniform are to be credited to the Mother’s accounts.
As many as 3.17 lakh students in the 43 mandals in the district will be benefited by the scheme.
Objective
The state government intends to build proficiency rate and Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) in schools through these activities.
Application Producer
The government school of Andhra Pradesh state will distribute vidya kanuka kits to all students of the school and there is no application form require to get the benefits of the scheme.
- Report on Big Tech Companies: US House
A US House of Representatives panel submitted the report of a bipartisan investigation into the working of big technology companies like Amazon, Apple, Google and Facebook.
It called for the big technology companies to be broken up and also for a “presumptive prohibition against future mergers and acquisitions by the dominant platform”.
Background:
These companies have been on the government radar in many countries for being big spenders and trying to steamroll competition by either buying out their rivals or pushing vendors to avoid working with their competitors.
As part of reviewing the state of competition online, the US House panel probed these companies and looked into how they controlled the flow of data for themselves as well as their competition.
- DST-IBM Collaboration for STEM
The Department of Science and Technology (DST) and International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) India have announced collaborations to scale up the initiatives, Vigyan Jyoti and Engage with Science.
Both DST and IBM India aim to create a robust STEM ecosystem that nurtures critical thinkers, problem-solvers, and next-generation innovators.
DST and IBM India will work together to further integrate and develop science and technology in the education ecosystem with short term courses, workshops, mentoring, and online science content communication for teachers and students in India.
Key Points
It was launched by the DST in 2019.
Aim isto promote Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) learning among girl students and build confidence and excitement towards these streams.
STEM is a curriculum based on the idea of educating students in 4 specific disciplines, science, technology, engineering and mathematics, in an interdisciplinary and applied approach.
To create a level-playing field for meritorious girls from grades 9 to 12, especially from the top colleges in the areas where girls are hugely underrepresented.
To solve the multidimensional problems associated with the meagre representation of women.
The programme provides a scholarship, visit to nearby scientific institutions, science camps, lecturers from eminent women scientists, and career counselling.
It is currently implemented by Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) in 58 districts, with the participation of about 2900 students.
JNV is a system of central schools for talented students predominantly from rural areas in India.
They are run by Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti, New Delhi, an autonomous organization under the Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education.
- Increased Election Campaign Broadcast Time
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has increased the broadcast time allotted to recognised political parties on Doordarshan and All India Radio to aid campaigning for elections to the Legislative Assembly of Bihar, 2020.
Key Points
Broadcast Timings: A base time of 90 minutes will be given to each national party and recognised state party of Bihar uniformly on the regional kendras of Doordarshan network and All India Radio network in Bihar.
No party will be given more than 30 minutes in a single broadcast session.
Any additional time (beyond the basic 90 minutes) will be given to a party based on its electoral performance in the last Assembly election in 2015.
Broadcast Period: The period of broadcast will be between the last date of filing nominations and two days before the date of polling in Bihar.
The Prasar Bharati Corporation in consultation with the ECI will decide the actual date and time for broadcast and telecast.
Prasar Bharati is India's largest public broadcasting agency. It is a statutory autonomous body set up by the Prasar Bharati Act, 1990 and comprises the Doordarshan Television Network and All India Radio, which were earlier media units of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
The parties will be required to submit transcripts and recordings in advance.
In addition to the broadcast by parties, the Prasar Bharati Corporation will organise a maximum of four panel discussions and/or debates on the Kendra/Station of Doordarshan/ All India Radio.
Each eligible party can nominate one representative to such a programme.
With the pandemic restricting movement and maintenance of safety for the people and party workers through non-contact-based campaign.
This can act as an experimental step to reduce the expenditure on physical campaigning.
- All about SVAMITVA scheme
Prime Minister launched the physical distribution of Property Cards under the SVAMITVA Scheme to transform rural India and empower millions of people.
The Scheme is being implemented across the country in a phased manner over a period of four years and will cover around six lakh 62 thousand villages of the country.
The program is currently being implemented in six states - Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
SVAMITVA scheme
SVAMITVA Scheme is a Central Sector scheme.
Launched in April 2020.
Aims to provide the record of rights to village household owners in rural areas and issue Property Cards.
The Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) is the Nodal Ministry for implementation of the scheme.
In the States, the Revenue Department / Land Records Department will be the Nodal Department and shall carry out the scheme with support of State Panchayati Raj Department.
The demarcation of rural abadi areas would be done using Drone Surveying technology.
Objectives
To bring financial stability to the citizens in rural India by enabling them to use their property as a financial asset for taking loans and other financial benefits.
Creation of accurate land records for rural planning.
Determination of property tax, which would accrue to the GPs directly in States where it is devolved or else, add to the State exchequer.
Creation of survey infrastructure and GIS maps that can be leveraged by any department for their use.
To support in preparation of better-quality Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP) by making use of GIS maps.
To reduce property related disputes and legal cases.
- Exercise Sagar Kavach
The two-day half-yearly coastal security exercise, Sagar Kavach, along the Kerala and Karnataka coasts concluded.
It was conducted by the Navy, the Coast Guard along with other stakeholders like Coastal Police, Police Special Branch, Intelligence Bureau, Customs, Immigration, Department of Port, Department of Fisheries, Director General of Lighthouses, and fishing community.
During the exercise, attacks were simulated at important government and private places to evaluate the security mechanism of concerned agencies.
The exercise has the objective of integrating coastal population and fishing communities with coastal security set up and serve as 'eyes and ears' of security forces.
In this exercise, communication between different agencies, timely flow of information, collection and dissemination of intelligence were also evaluated.
- All about Mukhyamantri Saur Swarojgar Yojana
The Uttarakhand Chief Minister launched Mukhyamantri Saur Swarojgar Yojana in Dehradun.
Aim
The Saur Swarojgar Yojana aims at creating self-employment for nearly 10,000 youths, migrants in the state who lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The beneficiaries will be allocated solar plants of 25 kilowatts each. 10,000 people will get self-employment under this scheme.
Youth and migrants who have returned home after leaving their jobs in various parts of the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Significance
It will provide employment and promote production of green energy.
The installed solar power plants will help in integrated farming of fruits vegetables and herbs on the same land.
The state government has also planned to promote farming seeds of climate based spongy and medicinal plants in the same land.
Details
A total of 1.5-2 nalis (land measurement unit) of land and Rs 10 lakh at the rate of Rs 40,000 per unit are required to set up each of these plants, which will generate 38,000 units of electricity per annum and will be bought by Uttarakhand Power Corporation Ltd for 25 years.
Cooperative banks will grant loans at an interest rate of eight per cent per year for 15 years to set up the solar plants on private land or on land taken on lease.
A committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of the District Magistrate to allocate projects at the district level to the applicants found suitable by the technical committee.
- Cabinet approves Tree Transplantation Policy
The Delhi Cabinet approved the ‘Tree Transplantation Policy’ for the preservation of trees in the Capital.
The Cabinet also approved the installation of the second smog tower in the world at Connaught Place within ten months. The project seeks to prevent large-scale felling for development projects.
Highlights:
Under the policy, a minimum of 80% of trees affected by a development or construction project will be transplanted. Over 80% of the transplanted trees must survive after transplantation.
Also, 10 saplings will be planted in addition to the whole tree being dug up with the root intact and scientifically transplanted at another location instead of being felled.
Delhi state government is to form a panel of agencies for tree transplantation and the government departments concerned will contact these agencies.
Under this initiative, various measures including Electric Vehicle (EV), tree transplantation, and preventing stubble burning will be taken.
The main objective of the key components of this campaign was the tree transplantation policy.
- TRIFED, Chhattisgarh MFP Federation, IIT-Kanpur to launch Tech for Tribals Initiative
Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Ltd (TRIFED) under Ministry of Tribal Affairs in collaboration with Chhattisgarh MFP Federation and IIT-Kanpur is to launch ‘Tech for Tribals' initiative on 13th October 2020.
Tech for Tribals:
The initiative aims to provide advance level training to the Vandhan tribal beneficiaries. Earlier, TRIFED has collaborated with MSME through its Entrepreneurship and Skill Development Programme (ESDP) scheme for providing skill upgrading and entrepreneurial capacity building support to the Van Dhan tribal beneficiaries to establish their sustainable enterprise.
Tech for Tribals initiative aims at the holistic development of tribals with a focus on entrepreneurship development, soft skills, IT, and business development through Self Help Groups (SHGs) operating through Van Dhan Kendras (VDVKs).
The initiative focuses to bridge the gap between tribal entrepreneurs and urban markets.
Under the program, the beneficiaries will undergo a 30 days program over six weeks comprising 120 sessions. The training will be initially held from 12th October - 7th November 2020, in which Vandhan beneficiaries across all districts of Chhattisgarh.
The beneficiaries will be trained on various facets of micro-enterprise creation, management and functioning.
The training module has been developed by IIT-Kanpur. The module will be disseminated among beneficiaries in a phased manner through various modes such as online lectures and training, online activities and gradually move to face to face interactions in classrooms, practical, onsite visits and exposure visits.
- India, ADB Signed USD 300 Million Loan to Develop Secondary Towns in Rajasthan
The Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a $300 million loan on 12th October to finance inclusive and sustainable water supply and sanitation infrastructure and services in 14 secondary towns of the state of Rajasthan.
Highlights:
The project will provide sustainable water supply and sanitation (WSS) services in the project towns in Rajasthan.
The aim is to improve quality of life in these towns, including for the poor and vulnerable after signing the loan agreement.
The investments in WSS with 10-year operation and maintenance contracts will ensure improved and sustainable service delivery in line with the state government’s urban sector development plan.
The project strengthened the institutional capacity of the local governments and the Rajasthan Urban Drinking Water, Sewerage, and Infrastructure Corporation Limited, which is a corporate entity established with ADB’s technical support.
The main objective of the project is to provide support to women and vulnerable groups by providing paid internships, skills training, and community engagement and awareness activities.
ADB has been funded in Rajasthan since 2000 including innovations such as cost-effective systems and the use of smart technologies.
The project aims to empower urban local bodies, and strengthen their institutional capacity; deepen sector reforms, and build resilience of communities to manage health pandemics.
Under the project, water supply systems in at least 8 project towns are expected to improve by 2027. This will benefit more than 570,000 people and Citywide sanitation systems will benefit about 720,000 people in at least 14 secondary towns.
- PM released the autobiography of Dr.Balasaheb Vikhe Patil titled Deh Vechwa Karani
Prime Minister NarendraModi released the autobiography of Dr Balasaheb Vikhe Patil titled Deh VechwaKarani through video conferencing on 13th October.
PM also renamed Pravara Rural Education Society as ‘Lokneta Dr Balasaheb Vikhe Patil Pravara Rural Education Society’.
Dr.Balasaheb Vikhe Patil:
Dr.Balasaheb Vikhe Patil was a member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India. He was the eldest son of Vithalrao Vikhe Patil, who started Asia's first Co-operative sugar factory at Loni, Maharashtra.
He served as the Union Cabinet Minister (Heavy Industries), former Union Minister of State (Finance) and seven-time MP. He was a prominent leader of Maharashtra.
He was awarded Padma Bhushan in 2010 for his outstanding work in the field of Social Work. In 1964, BalasahebVikhePatil established Pravara Rural Education Society at Loni, Uttar Pradesh with an aim to provide world-class education to the rural masses and empower the girl child.
- Lt General M V Suchindra Kumar assumed command of Jammu-based 16 Corps
Lieutenant General M V Suchindra Kumar assumed charge as the General Officer Commanding (GoC) of the Indian Army's elite 16 Corps, known as White Knight Corps. He succeeded Lt Gen Harsha Gupta.
XVI Corps (India):
The XVI Corps of the Indian Army was established on 1 June 1972. It is headquartered at Nagrota Cantonment, Nagrota, Jammu district, Jammu & Kashmir. 16 Corps is a branch of the Indian Army. White Knight Corps is a Part of the Army Northern Command.
- Commemorative 100 rupee coin in the honour of Vijaya Raje Scindia
Prime Minister released a commemorative 100 rupee coin in the honour of Vijaya Raje Scindia.
VijayaRajeScindia is also popularly known as the Rajmata of Gwalior.
RajmataScindia dedicated her life for the future of the nation and renounced all her happiness for the future generations of the country.
- Vijaya Raje Scindia (12 October 1919 – 25 January 2001)
Vijaya Raje Scindia was born in 1919 at Sagar in present-day Madhya Pradesh. Vijaya Raje Scindia, born Lekha Divyeshwari Devi and known popularly as the Rajmata of Gwalior, was a prominent Indian political personality.
In the days of the British Raj, as consort of the last ruling Maharaja of Gwalior, JivajiraoScindia, she ranked among the highest royal figures of the land.
In later life, she became a politician of considerable influence and was elected repeatedly to both houses of the Indian parliament.
She was also an active member, of the Jana Sangh and co-founder of Bharatiya Janata Party.
- Brand and a logo for Indian cotton - Kasturi Cotton
Union Minister for Textiles unveiled a brand and a logo for Indian cotton.
The branding - Kasturi Cotton - would initially be applicable to long staple cotton that is grown in India and meets prescribed standards.
Background
Creating a brand of Indian cotton was a long pending requirement of the trade.
Leading cotton exporting countries of the world, like Egypt and the US, have their own cotton brands.
Significance
Kasturi Cotton may help Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) increase exports, as Centre's MSP procurement expected to increase.
The fine parameters of the Kasturi brand will help Indian cotton realise at least 5% more value than the prevailing market price
The government has promised to double the income of farmers.
- SC seeks response from National Commission for Protection of Child Rights
The Supreme Court sought a response from the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), to its request to eight States to “produce” children living in care homes for their “immediate repatriation” with their families.
Eight States: Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Mizoram, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra and Meghalaya. These States combinedly have 1.84 lakh children in care homes.
This accounts for over 70% of the children in care homes.
These States combinedly have 1.84 lakh children in care homes.
Supreme Court
The court had directed juvenile authorities to proactively consider children should be kept in the child care institutions with the best interest, health and safety concerns.
The court wondered whether the NCPCR could issue such general directions to the States without considering the education, health, safety of the children, the consent of their parents and their economic situation.
- Rashtriya Kamadhenu Aayog campaigns Kamadhenu Deepawali Abhiya
The Rashtriya Kamadhenu Aayog (RKA) began the nationwide campaign called “Kamadhenu Deepawali Abhiyan” for coming Diwali to bring out the 33 crores ‘GomayaDeeya’ in 11 crore families in India.
Details
The campaign will promote the use of cow products and conserve and protect cows in the country.
The RKA will promote cow dung based Diyas, candles, dhoop, Agarbatti, Shubh-Labh, swastika, wall-pieces, Samrani, Havansamagri, idols of goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesha.
The initiative will ignite 3 lakh diyas in Ayodhya, 1 lakh in Varanasi.
The initiative is being implemented by the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
Significance
The use of cow dung to create innovative products will generate business opportunities to thousands of cow-based entrepreneurs and farmers.
The use of cow-dung products will lead to a cleaner and healthier environment.
The Cow-centric economy can also help in achieving Atmanirbharat Bharat goal by making its own humble contribution.
Rejecting China made Diyas , the campaign will boost up Make in India concept.
RKA has been consistently endeavoring to increase the use of various cow-panchgavya products to raise the income of farmers, go-Palaks, youth, women, self-help groups, and other stakeholders.
- All about Gujarat Disturbed Area Act (Amendment) bill, 2020
President has given his assent to a Bill passed by the Gujarat Assembly last year, which made some important amendments to The Gujarat Prohibition of Transfer of Immovable Property and Provisions of Tenants from Eviction from Premises in Disturbed Areas Act, a controversial law that is popularly known as the ‘Disturbed Areas Act’.
What is the Disturbed Areas Act?
Under the Disturbed Areas Act, a district Collector can notify a particular area of a city or town as a “disturbed area”.
This notification is generally done based on the history of communal riots in the area.
The transfer of immovable property in the disturbed area can take place only after the Collector expressly signs off on an application made by the buyer and the seller of the property.
Violation of the Act’s provisions invites imprisonment and a fine.
The state government claims it is aiming to check communal polarisation of various parts of the state through the Act.
- All about Child rescue roadmap
A team of rescuers (from Bachpan Bachao Andolan-BBA) intercepted a bus with a group of children being taken for work from Samastipur in Bihar to Jaipur in Rajasthan.
The BBA was founded by Nobel Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi.
Details
The trafficking of children from vulnerable families in villages, mainly for cheap labour and child marriages, amid deep economic distress.
A surge in child trafficking since the lockdown began: the national helpline for distress calls, tracked 1.92 lakh interventions between March and August, and 27 lakh distress calls.
Experts now warn that the next few months are crucial, and effective action could spell the difference between mitigation and a full-blown crisis.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) issued a set of guidelines, titled “Preventing Child Trafficking Post Lockdown Due to Covid-19 pandemic”, which advocated the mapping of source and destination states for distribution of government benefits.
To enable this process, discussions at district, block and village levels are required to be undertaken, and identification and matching of the vulnerable families at source, transit and destination is important.
To prevent child trafficking post lockdown, transit hotspots viz. bus stations, routes, highways, villages connected with highways, villages with stations which work as potential inter-state trafficking hotspots, railway stations, state and national borders, airports, hotels, dharamshalas, immigration offices at borders, Custom offices at borders, should be identified and recorded.
- Psychological capsule for soldiers
Amidst the rising cases of youths joining terror groups, the Indian Army has introduced a change in its training for the soldiers who are getting posted in the hinterland and the Line of Control (LoC).
Aim
To make the soldiers more sensitive towards the civil population with a new psychological capsule and tweak in drills of engagement.
Details
Army have introduced a capsule in January to make the soldiers more sensitive towards civilians.
This capsule has been developed in conjunction with the Defence Institute of Psychological Research (DIPR).
A selected lot up to 250 soldiers/officers from trainees to go through this psychology capsule.
The aim of the training at Corps Battle School, Khrew, is to not just improve the operational reflexes with the help of the cognitive learning of the soldiers but also to make him go through the capsule to not be hostile towards the locals and obviate collateral damage.
In the general sensitisation capsules, there is an increasing focus on convincing local youth caught in encounters to surrender.
All soldiers deployed to the valley and the LoC under the 15 Corps area have to undergo a sensitisation programme at CBS (Corps Battle School).
All personnel posted to the LoC undergo a 14-day capsule and those deployed in the valley a 28-day capsule.
There are four tenets on which the orientation is based upon: good faith and just conduct, minimum Force, avoid collateral damage, impartiality, and necessity of operations.
Apart from the training drills, the soldiers are also being sensitized of the imminent dangers of the use of UAVs for airdrops along the LoC and taking the help of the family members of the terrorists to persuade them to surrender.
- GoI sets up Panel of Secretaries to streamline telecom spectrum allocation
The Government of India formed a Panel of Secretaries under cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba to streamline the spectrum allocation process and examine it.
Highlights:
The Panel has been constituted to streamline the allocation of spectrum. It will analyse the potential of drawing up an annual calendar for the public sale of airwaves that may give telcos a transparent street map of the quantum in addition to the frequency of spectrum on supply for industrial use.
Besides cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba, the Panel also constitutes the secretaries of house, defence, railways, telecom, I&B and division of the house. The first meeting of the newly constituted panel was held on 12 October, 2020.
The immediate and initial task for the panel is to resolve a tussle between the telecom department and Department of Space on 5G spectrum in the 26 GHz band. The DoS has chunks of these coveted airwaves but the department is refusing to part with it. The DoT and the telcos are in need of the super-efficient millimetre waves for commercial use, given that the global 5G ecosystem is rapidly developing around this band. If access to these airwaves is denied, 5G network deployment costs would reach high.
Background:
The spectrum trade at the moment has a debt of over Rs. 8.55 lakh crore together with these associated to authorities dues on airwave purchases.
It has spent an amount of Rs.2.51 lakh crore on shopping for spectrum within the six auctions since 2010.
The discussions about this will happen when the federal government plans to carry a 4G airwaves sale early subsequent 12 months. The final sale happened in October 2016.
- E- Sanjeevani Initiative records 5 lakh teleconsultations
Union Health Ministry’s E- Sanjeevani Initiative recently recorded 5 lakh teleconsultations. The initiative recorded one lakh consultations in just 17 days.
Highlights:
Top 3 states with highest teleconsultations include Tamil Nadu (1,69,977) Uttar Pradesh (1,34,992) and Himachal Pradesh (39,326).
Presently, 26 states are using two versions of eSanjeevani’s telemedicine namely, eSanjeevani OPD (Patient-to-Doctor) and e-Sanjeevani AB-HWC (Doctor-to-Doctor)
As per the government report, 20% of the patients have used e-Sanjeevani services for consultation more than once.
Currently, eSanjeevani AB-HWC is functional at 4,000 Health and Wellness Centres in our country.
About e-Sanjeevani:
e-Sanjeevani OPD was launched on April 13, 2020, and e-Sanjeevani AB-HWC was launched in November 2019.
E-Sanjeevani was launched by the Health Ministry in November 2019. It is a national telemedicine service that offers teleconsultations enabling patient to doctor consultations from their home.
This e-Sanjeevani platform has launched two types of telemedicine services that is Doctor-to-Doctor and Patient-to-Doctor Tele-consultations.
The telemedicine platform is hosting various OPDs, which include Gynaecology, ENT, Ophthalmology, Psychiatry, Dermatology, antiretroviral therapy (ART) for the AIDS/HIV patients, Non-Communicable Disease etc.
- AIM collaborates with CGI to promote Innovation across schools
Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), an initiative of NITI Aayog, has signed a Statement of Intent (SOI) with Client Global Sights (CGI) India in the view of speeding up the innovation across the schools. The partnership aims to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship across the country.
Highlights:
As part of the SOI, CGI has agreed to adopt 100 schools with ATLs across Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai to promote and train students.
Volunteers of CGI will coach and mentor students to enhance technical literacy and for the development of immersive learning experiences to the students through hands-on training.
CGI will conduct training, workshops for teachers at selective schools on various topics that include design thinking, computational thinking, robotics and coding.
CGI India is one of the largest IT and business consulting services organisations. CGI has collaborated for creating a successful and innovative workforce from the ATL schools as it is a part of Atal Tinkering Lab (ATL) initiative. In India, CGI employs more than 14,000 consultants across major cities who provide global delivery support to clients all over the globe, ensuring accountability, flexibility, close collaboration, superior service and also expected business results.
- Union Cabinet approves Rs 5,718 crore World Bank-aided STARS project
World Bank-aided Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States (STARS) project is aims in strengthening the School Education System.
Union Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved Rs.5,718 crore for the STARS Project.
The project provides support for 6 States namely Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Odisha.
Highlights:
STARS project is regarded as a new Centrally Sponsored Scheme under the Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education (MOE).
The important component of the project is to establish PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development) as a National Assessment Centre.
National Assessment Centre will set norms for student assessment and evaluation for all school boards across the country.
The major initiative is to strengthen the Education Ministry’s data systems to capture information on the retention, transition and completion rates of students.
A similar project soon to be funded by the Asian Development Bank will cover Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Assam and every State will partner with one other State to share their best methos.
The STARS project also aims to focus on initiatives of PM e-Vidya, Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Mission and National Curricular and Pedagogical Framework for Early Childhood Care and Education as part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.
- Fourth Special Kisan Rail 'Nagpur-Adarsh Nagar New Delhi'
Union Transport Minister flagged off the fourth Special Kisan Rail 'Nagpur-Adarsh Nagar New Delhi' from Nagpur Railway Station.
At present three other Kisan Rail - Nasik to Danapur in Patna, Ananthpur to New Delhi and Bengaluru to Hazrat Nizamuddin operating carrying fruits and vegetables.
Details
This train will carry the first consignment of 205 tonnes of ornages from citrus producing districts in Vidarbha.
The train will have station- stops at Katol, Narkhed, Pandhurna, Betul, Itarsi.
The Kisan Rail is operated by the Nagpur division of the Central Railway.
The Kisan Railway would reduce the cost of transporting agricultural produce and increase the income of farmers thereby bringing an economic transformation in farmers of Vidarbha.
The government also announced a 50% subsidy on the transportation cost of notified fruits and vegetables that will be carried by Kisan Rail.
This subsidy can be availed by individual farmers, food processors, cooperative societies, retailers, state and cooperative marketing agencies till December 11.
The notified fruits include banana, guava, mango, citrus, pineapple, pomegranate, papaya, and jack fruit and the list of vegetables include onion, potato, tomato, French beans, brinjal, capsicum, carrot, cauliflower and okra.
The subsidy will be borne by the food processing industries ministry (MoFPI), which is implementing Operation Greens from Tomato, Onion and Potato (TOP) to all fruits & vegetables (TOTAL) under the AtmaNirbhar initiative.
Union ministry also inaugurated the Central Railway's Santra Kisan Railway website which has booking facility for agricultural produce.
- IIT- Guwahati signed MoU with the C-DAC to establish 650TF supercomputing facility
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC).
The aim is to establish Rs. 17 crore worth of 650TF Supercomputing Facility under the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM).
The MoU was signed by C-DAC Director General Hemant Darbari and IIT-G Director T G Sitharam during a virtual event in the presence of Union ministers.of State for Education, Communications and Electronics & Information Technology.
Highlights:
The MoU has been signed for a period of 5 years.
IIT stated that using the Supercomputing facility, the Institute will focus on quantum turbulence, instabilities and turbulence in thermal convection and MHD, supercooled liquid and glasses; reactivity of high-valent metal intermediates; computational study of polymer-composites, membranes, poly electrolytes, granular flows; NLP, clinical text mining, Machine Learning and its application in computational biology, Deep Learning; and Computational Social Systems areas of research
The new supercomputer with 650 TFLOPS will be more powerful and a technologically superior facility. It will play an important role in the field of scientific and engineering applications.
The Communication Centre and IIT-G’s Computer is already equipped with ‘Param Ishan’, a ‘250 TF’ supercomputer.
Under the MoU the institute will organise training courses to popularise the use and applications of supercomputers in the northeastern region.
This facility with the new inter-disciplinary master programme on data sciences was jointly initiated by the Departments of Electronics and Electrical Engineering (EEE), Computer Science and Engineering and Mathematics·
The supercomputing facility will be a part of the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM).
- Two-day 4th India Agricultural Outlook Forum 2020 webinar was inaugurated
Union Minister of State for Agriculture Shri Parshottam Rupala inaugurated the Two-day 4th India Agricultural Outlook Forum 2020.
It is known that the Agriculture sector has recorded 3.4% growth during the first quarter of 2020-21.
Highlights:
The 4th India Agricultural Outlook Forum 2020’ webinar started in Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi.
It should be noted that the agriculture sector has emerged as the star performer in India’s pandemic-hit economy.
The main objective is to strengthen all activities and services in horticulture, agriculture, and allied sectors through creation and development of agriculture infrastructure, micro food enterprises, value chains and logistics for fishery and animal husbandry, medicinal and herbal plants, and beekeeping.
The forum is virtually attended by the officials from centre and state governments, national and international agricultural research institutes; Chief Economist USDA; a delegation from foreign embassies; International organisations like FAO, EU and OECD; scientists from ICAR, representatives from agro-Industries, business and farmers associations.
- All about Intellectual Property India annual report
Government of India (GoI) released Intellectual Property India annual report on October 15, 2020. Intellectual Property India annual report released by GoI focuses on the patent for the inventions that are invented in India.
Highlights:
With the report released, the rankings for the year 2018 – 19 was also finalized by Office of Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks, Government of India.
Chandigarh University Gharuan topped the list by filing the highest number of 336 patents in a year.
By the report released, it is known that 27 Indian Institute of Technology (IIT’s) have filed 557 patents totally.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) took second place with 239 patent applications.
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) stands in third place with 202 applications.
Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) placed at fourth position with 173 patent applications.
By statewise Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh took the First, Second and third places respectively.
- Union Education Minister launched KAPILA Kalam Program
Union Education Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank virtually launched the 'KAPILA' Kalam Program for Intellectual Property Literacy and Awareness campaign on October 15, 2020. 'KAPILA' Kalam Program for Intellectual Property Literacy and Awareness campaign was launched on the 89th birth anniversary of former President and Scientist Late Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.
Highlights:
The ‘KAPILA’ Kalam Program helps those students who pursuing education in higher educational institutions will get information about the correct system of the application process for patenting their invention and they will be aware of their rights.
The Institution Innovation Council (IIC 2.0) annual report was also presented on the occasion and the launch of IIC 3.0 was announced and its website was also launched.
It is also decided that the week of October 15th to 23rd will be celebrated as 'Intellectual Property Literacy Week'.
Institution Innovation Council was established by the Ministry of Education in 2018.
IICs have been established in about 1700 higher educational institutions and it was marked that IIC will be established in 5000 higher educational institutions under IIC 3.0.
Intellectual Property Literacy Week will be celebrated by conducting a number of activities will be organized from October 15th to October 23, in which online awareness will be created about the system and the importance of the process of applying for a patent.
- Kala Sanskriti Vikas Yojana
The Ministry of Culture is implementing Kala Sanskriti Vikas Yojana (KSVY) through which cultural organisations are given financial assistance for the promotion of art and culture.
Details
Kala Sanskriti Vikas Yojana (KSVY) is an umbrella scheme under Ministry of Culture for the promotion of art and culture in the country.
It is a Central Sector Scheme. Purely funded by Government of India.
The artists/organizations who have already been sanctioned grant under KSVY schemes are encouraged to conduct various components of the schemes such as virtual workshops on art & craft, lecture-cum-demonstrations, webinars, online programs/festivals etc. through virtual mode on social media handles like Facebook, YouTube etc.
KSVY has the following sub-schemes through which financial assistance is provided to cultural organizations:
Scheme of Financial Assistance for Promotion of Art and Culture.
Scheme of Financial Assistance for Creation of Cultural Infrastructure.
Scheme for Safeguarding the Intangible Cultural Heritage.
- Lancet: Life Expectancy in India increases to 70.8 years
The study, published in the Lancet journal, noted that life expectancy in India has risen from 59.6 years in 1990 to 70.8 years in 2019.
The Indian Institute of Public Health Gandhinagar, said the increase in “healthy life expectancy” in India has not been as dramatic as the growth of life expectancy since “people are living more years with illness and disability”.
Key Findings: Global Scenario
The current global crisis of chronic diseases and failure of public health to stem the rise in highly preventable risk factors such as high blood pressure, tobacco use and air pollution have left populations vulnerable to acute health emergencies such as Covid-19.
The main improvement seen in almost every country, including in India, is a decline in infectious diseases and more rise in chronic diseases.
While many parts of the world have also controlled infectious diseases through immunisation and better medical care, some countries still struggle to manage these epidemics.
The interaction of Covid-19 with the continued global rise in chronic illness and related risk factors, including obesity, high blood sugar, and outdoor air pollution, over the past 30 years has created a perfect storm, fuelling Covid-19 deaths.
In the South Asia region, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) now contribute to more than half of the years lost due to ill-health, disability or early death, which was dominated by infectious, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional diseases 30 years ago.
Indian Scenario
India has gained more than a decade of life expectancy since 1990.
In India maternal mortality used to be very high, but now it is coming down.
Cardiovascular diseases used to be number five, and now it is number one, and cancer rates are increasing.
58 percent of the disease burden in India is now due to non-communicable diseases, up from 29 percent in 1990.
The premature deaths due to NCDs have more than doubled from 22 to 50 percent.
The largest contributors to increasing health loss in India over the last 30 years were NCDs like ischaemic heart disease, COPD, diabetes, stroke, and a group of musculoskeletal disorders.
In 2019, the top five risk factors for death in India were air pollution (contributing to an estimated 1.67 million deaths), high blood pressure (1.47 million), tobacco use (1.23 million), poor diet (1.18 million), and high blood sugar (1.12 million).
- India Trans Fat free by 2022
Government is aiming to make India Trans Fat free by 2022, a year ahead of target set by World Health Organization.
Due to the unprecedented challenges faced by the world on account of the Covid pandemic, there has been a renewed focus on food, nutrition, health, immunity and sustainability.
The key focus of this year is the elimination of trans-fat from the food supply chain.
Highlights
Transfat, which is present in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils such as vanaspati, shortening and margarine, is a major contributor to the rise in non-communicable diseases in India.
Trans-fat is a modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVD).
Eliminating CVD risk factor is especially relevant during COVID-19 as people with CVD are predisposed to have serious conditions having an impact on mortality.
Eat Right India movement
Eat Right India movement by FSSAI, targets to promote safe and healthy food for everyone in an environmentally sustainable way.
It is a part of its mandate to provide safe and wholesome food for all citizens.
This will improve the food safety ecosystems and lift the hygiene and health of our citizens.
- Jal Shakti Minister presented 2020 Swachh Bharat Awards
Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat presented the Swachh Bharat Awards 2020 particularly under the drinking water and cleanliness categories.
The awards were given to States, Districts, Blocks and Village Panchayats. GoI had earlier launched three missions namely Swachh Sundar SamudayikShouchalaya, SamudayikShouchalaya Abhiyan and GandagiMukth Bharat.
Highlights:
Under the Swachh Sundar SamudayikShouchalaya category Gujarat was awarded the first position at state level whereas Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu got the Award for cleanliness at District Level. Chinnanur Village in Tamil Nadu bagged the top slot at Gram Panchayat level. Khachrod block in Ujjain district in Madhya Pradesh was awarded the first position.
Under the SamudayikShouchalaya Abhiyan, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh topped as best performing states. Prayagraj and Bareilly won the award for being the best performing districts.
Under the GandagiMukth Bharat Mission, Haryana and Telangana were awarded the top slot.
Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) has transformed rural India into a Jan Andolan for achieving Open Defecation Free (ODF). The Phase II of the SBM (G) was launched early this year. It focuses on ODF sustainability and Solid and Liquid Waste Management (SLWM) which aims at comprehensive cleanliness in villages.
- Good Conduct and Early Release: SC
The Supreme Court has held that the length of a prison sentence or the gravity of the crime cannot be the sole basis for denying a convict premature release from jail.
Background:
The judgment came in a plea made by two prisoners who have been imprisoned for a botched kidnapping for ransom case in Uttar Pradesh.
They are in their early middle age with a record of good conduct in jail.
The court held that “their action of kidnapping was nothing but a fanciful attempt to procure easy money, for which they have learnt a painful life lesson” and ordered their release.
Judgement:
The three-judge bench held that an assessment of the tendency to commit a crime upon release “must be based on antecedents as well as the conduct of the prisoner while in jail, and not merely on his age or apprehensions of the victims and witnesses”.
Reformative justice should not merely focus on public harmony but should foster brotherhood and mutual acceptability.
First-time offenders should especially be given a second chance at life allowing them to look forward to a bright future.
- Data Governance Quality Index: NITI Aayog
The Department of Fertilizers (Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers) has been ranked 3rd out of the 65 Ministries/Departments with a score 4.11 on a scale of 5 on Data Governance Quality Index (DGQI).
It has been ranked 2nd amongst the 16 Economic Ministries/Departments.
Key Points
Data Governance Quality Index (DGQI) survey was conducted by Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office (DMEO), Niti Aayog to assess different Ministries/Departments' performance on the implementation of Central Sector Schemes (CS) and Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS).
Objective: To drive healthy competition among them and promote cooperative peer learning from best practices.
Benefits: Improve the implementation framework of government policies, schemes and programmes to achieve the desired goals.
Six major themes of DGQI: Data Generation; Data Quality; Use of Technology; Data Analysis, Use and Dissemination; Data Security and HR Capacity and Case Studies.
Ministries/Departments were classified in six categories: Administrative, Strategic, Infrastructure, Social, Economic and Scientific.
- Union Minister releases 'Ayush Standard Treatment Protocol' to fight Coronavirus
Health Minister Dr Harshvardhan released the 'Ayush Standard Treatment Protocol' through video conferencing.
The protocol contains the details self-care guidelines for preventive health measures to help protect against COVID-19 pandemic.
The upgradation of protocols by the Ministry of AYUSH has been done in sync with ICMR and CSIR.
Clinical studies have established some Ayurveda interventions like Ashwagandha, Laung&Giloy as anti inflammatory, antiviral & immunity-modulating which help protect against COVID-19.
- Indian Air Force to celebrate 88th Air Force Day on Oct 8
The Indian Air Force today conducted a full-dress rehearsal including a fly past by its aircraft, at its Hindon base in Ghaziabad for the 88th IAF Day on 8th of October.
Rafale fighter jet was the attraction of the rehearsal.
The Tejas LCA, Jaguar, Mig-29, Mig-21 and Sukhoi-30 aircraft were also part of the rehearsal.
Five Rafale fighter jets were formally inducted into the IAF on 10th of September in a major boost to India's air power capability at a time when the country has been engaged in a months-long tense border standoff with China in eastern Ladakh.
IAF's helicopter fleet like Mi-17V5, ALH Mark-4, Chinook, Mi-35 and Apache were also part of the fly past. The Air Force Day is celebrated to mark the day the IAF was established in 1932.
- Education Ministry issues guidelines for reopening of schools in country
Education Ministry has issued the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for reopening of schools in the country.
The Guidelines for gradual opening of schools after 15th of October are broadly divided into two parts which include health and safety aspects in accordance with Health Ministry guidelines to follow all necessary safety precautions of ensuring physical distancing and wearing masks.
The second part of the guideline deals with Academic aspects and on methods of delivery of education amidst the pandemic.
The guidelines emphasise on the smooth transition of students from home-based schooling during lockdown to formal schooling by the school authorities.
It calls for making a Comprehensive Alternative Calendar of Activities for the Whole Year with focus on learning outcomes.
The teachers have been asked to polish their skills for integration of IT technology for its proper usage in the class modules.
Use of divergent teaching resources including peer-teaching and learning, use of workbooks and worksheets and use of technology-based resources in class has been advocated in order to ensure compliance with physical distancing and other safety norms.
Schools have also been encouraged to make their own SOPs based on the guidelines issued by states and UTs, keeping in view the safety and physical or social distancing norms.
The Education Ministry guidelines emphasise on sensitising children about the pandemic by integrating various concepts into the teaching modules.
Special focus on the most vulnerable students which includes homeless and migrated students, students with disabilities, and those directly affected by Covid-19 has also been asked to be prioritised.
PRAGYATA Guidelines and usage of DIKSHA portal for better online teaching modules has also been highlighted.
The State and Union Territories have been asked to develop their own SOPs based on the Education Ministry’s guidelines for reopening of schools and for training different stakeholders.
- ISLRTC, NCERT sign MoU to convert educational materials into Indian Sign Language
A historic Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Indian Sign Language Research and Training Center (ISLRTC) and NCERT to make education materials accessible for Deaf children in their preferred format of communication, Indian Sign Language. This MoU was signed in the virtual presence of Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thaawarchand Gehlot and Education Minister Ramesh PokhriyalNishank.
Mr Gehlot said that the signing of this MoU is a historic step as availability of NCERT textbooks in Indian Sign Language will ensure that Hearing Impaired children can also now access educational resources in Indian Sign Language. He said, it will be a useful and much needed resource for Hearing Impaired students, teachers, teacher educators and parents. The Minister said that this MoU is a step towards achieving common goal of fulfilling needs of Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 and New Education Policy, 2020.
Mr Pokhriyal said that signing of MoU for converting NCERT educational materials in to Indian sign language ensures educational standardization of Indian Sign Language as mandated in the New Education Policy, 2020. He hoped that New Education Policy is an inclusive one and will transform the country.
- Govt continues to procure Kharif 2020-21 crops at existing MSP Schemes
The arrival of Kharif Marketing Season, KMS 2020-21 has already commenced and Government continues to procure Kharif 2020-21 crops at Minimum Support Price, MSP from farmers as per its existing MSP Schemes as done in previous seasons.
Food and Public Distribution Ministry said, paddy procurement through FCI and state government agencies for KMS 20-21 has picked up fast in some of the procuring states like Punjab, Haryana, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. It is expected to start in other procuring States very soon. As on Monday, the cumulative procurement of paddy has already crossed 11.14 Lakh Metric Tonnes, procured through over 87 thousand farmers having MSP value of over 2,103 Crores.
Based on the proposal from the States, approval was accorded for procurement of 29.64 Lakh Metric Tonnes of Pulse and Oilseeds for Kharif Marketing Season 2020 for the States of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, Gujarat, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Sanction for procurement of 1.23 Lakh Metric Tonnes of Copra the perennial crop for the State of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala was also given.
For other States and UTs approval will also be accorded on receipt of proposals for procurement of Pulses, Oilseeds and Copra under Price Support Scheme so that procurement of FAQ grade of these crops can be made at notified MSP for the year 2020-21 directly from the registered farmers, if the market rate goes below MSP during the notified harvesting period in the States/UTs by the Central Nodal Agencies through State nominated procuring agencies.
Up to 5th October, the Government through its Nodal Agencies has procured over 140 Tonnes of Moong having MSP value of over one crore rupees benefitting 111 farmers in Tamil Nadu and Haryana. Similarly, 5,089 tonnes of copra having MSP value of over 52 crore rupees has been procured benefitting 3,961 farmers in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu against the sanctioned quantity of 1.23 Lakh Metric Tonnes for Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. In respect of Copra and Urad, rates are ruling at or above MSP.
The Procurement of Cotton Seeds Kapas during Kharif Marketing Season 2020-21 has also Started from 1st October and upto 5th October 2020, Cotton Corporation of India has procured 627 bales under MSP for MSP value of over 173 lakh rupees benefiting 137 farmers of Haryana and Punjab.
- IFFCO, Prasar Bharati sign MoU to broadcast & promote new agriculture technology & innovations
Prasar Bharati and Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Limited, IFFCO have signed a MoU to broadcast and promote new agriculture technology and innovations. According to the agreement, DD Kisan will broadcast various innovative techniques being adopted in agriculture field in easy language through 30 minutes program series for the benefit of farmers. To make the farmers Atmanirbhar, it is necessary that these new agriculture techniques and their implementation should be explained to the farmers. The MoU will help in achieving this objective. IFFCO’s innovations will be shared with farmers in easy language through DD Kisan in approximate 25 episodes.
Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government, Dr K. Vijay Raghavan stated this initiative as a historic step for the betterment of farmers.
Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati called this a matter of pride. He said, through this medium the information will be shared with the farmers in an easy language. Mr Vempati said, these programs will also be broadcast through digitial medium so that the young farmers can benefit from the initiative.
Managing Director of IFFCO, Dr. U S Awasthi said that IFFCO has prepared alternative of Urea which is Nanotechnology based and will help farmers. He said, it is a matter of joy that the innovations which can benefit farmers immensely will now be broadcasted on DD Kisan. Dr Awasthi said, it will also help to achieve the target of doubling the income of farmers by 2022.
Director General of Doordarshan Mayank Agarwal said that the agreement will help to promote the innovations of scientists done in lab and the experiment conducted by farmers in the field which will help the young farmers.
- Dr Harsh Vardhan chairs 5th Special Session of the WHO Executive Board
Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare presided over the fifth special session of Bureau of the Executive Board as Chairman of the Executive Board of the World Health Organization (WHO), virtually. Observer participants and senior officials of WHO Headquarters were also present.
The agenda of the meet included focus on the measures necessary to ensure the full and effective implementation of the terms of resolution WHA 73.1 on COVID-19 response.
The resolution WHA 73.1 titled “COVID-19 response” was co-sponsored by more than 130 countries and calls for the intensification of efforts to control the pandemic and for equitable access to and fair distribution of all essential health technologies and products to combat the virus.
At the outset, Dr Harsh Vardhan welcomed the participants, and expressed his deepest condolences for those who have sacrificed their lives to the pandemic and those who are continuing to fight relentlessly and selflessly.
In this regard, Dr Harsh Vardhan urged WHO members to work with the global community of partners for the efficient, effective and responsive discharge of public health obligations. “All these challenges, such as the present pandemic, demand a shared response because these are the shared threats requiring shared responsibility to act. The shared responsibility is also the core philosophy of our alliance of member nations that comprise WHO.”
- Indian Air Force celebrates its 88th Anniversary today (Oct 8)
Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria today (8th October, 2020) said that Indian Air Force has demonstrated its resolve, operational capability and will to effectively engage with the adversary when the need arises.
Addressing on the occasion of Air Force Day, Mr. Bhadauria said, Indian Air Force deployed its combat assets at short notice to handle any eventuality and provided proactive support to all the requirements of deployment and sustenance for the Indian Army.
Referring to recent standoff on the northern frontier, he commended the Air Warrior for their quick response.
On the preparedness of the Indian Air Force, he said, emerging security scenario mandates a greater need to have strong IAF to fight across domains across the entire spectrum of the warfare. He said, IAF is shifting towards the indigenous equipments to become self-reliant in aerospace sector and growth of engine for development of indigenous aerospace technology. He said, IAF is fully committed to build the 5th generation aircraft.
On the Covid-19 pandemic situation, Air Chief Marshal said, tenacity and resolve of our Air Warriors ensured that the IAF continue to retain its capability and capacity to undertake full scale operation. He said, Indian Air Force deployed transport helicopters to bring back the stranded Indians and supplied essential goods.
The IAF was founded on October 8, 1932. A scintillating air display by various aircraft was the hallmark of the Air Force Day Parade cum Investiture Ceremony at Air Force Station Hindan, Ghaziabad. The air display commenced with flag bearing sky divers of the famous AKASH GANGA Team dropping out of an AN-32 aircraft in their colourful canopies. The flypast included the vintage aircraft, modern transport aircraft and frontline fighter aircraft. The ceremony concluded with a spell binding aerobatic display.
President, Vice President and Prime Minister have greeted all Air Force personnel on this occasion.
- Cabinet approvals on October 7, 2020
On October 7, 2020, Union Cabinet met and congratulated its chair i.e. Prime Minister Narendra Modi for completing 20 years as a democratically elected leader. He previously served as Chief Minister of Gujarat for three consecutive terms.
During the meet, the Union Cabinet provided approvals to the following proposals which were elaborated by Union Minister Prakash Kehav Javadekar during a media briefing.
Cabinet Approvals:
Cabinet Approved to complete East -west Metro corridor project at cost of 8,575 cr
Cabinet approved ‘Natural Gas Marketing Reforms’ to make natural gas price mechanism transparent
Cabinet approves MoU between Zoological Survey of India and Canada’s iBOL
Cabinet approves Ratification of 7 Persistent Organic Pollutants listed under Stockholm
Central Govt approved MoC in the field of Cyber security between India and Japan
- Reforms in Exploration and Licensing Policy: Oil & Gas
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by the Prime Minister has approved the Policy framework on reforms in the exploration and licensing sector for enhancing domestic exploration and production of oil and gas.
It helps in
Attract new investment in Exploration and Production (E&P) Sector.
Intensification of exploration activities in unexplored areas.
Liberalizing the policy in producing basins.
- SC: public places cannot be occupied indefinitely
The Supreme Court (SC) found the indefinite occupation of a public road by the Shaheen Bagh protesters (against the Citizenship Amendment Act) unacceptable.
SC Judgement:
The judgment upheld the right to peaceful protest against a law.
However, the judgment made it unequivocally clear that public ways and public spaces cannot be occupied indefinitely.
The Court said that the protest became inconvenient to commuters.
The Court said that in a democracy, the rights of free speech and peaceful protest were treasured and are to be encouraged and respected. But, rights were also subject to reasonable restrictions imposed in the interest of sovereignty, integrity and public order.
“Fundamental rights do not live in isolation. The right of the protester has to be balanced with the right of the commuter. They have to co-exist in mutual respect”, the Court said.
- Google set to face antitrust case in India over smart TVs
Google is alleged to have abused its Android operating system’s position in the smart television market.
The case is Google’s fourth major antitrust challenge in India.
It is currently facing public criticism from local start-ups for hurting their growth by enforcing certain policies and company charges.
The Competition Commission of India has been looking into allegations that Google engages in anti-competitive practices by creating barriers for firms wanting to use or develop modified versions of Android for smart TVs.
Google is also facing new antitrust challenges in the U.S., and a potential antitrust probe in China.
- Republic TV, 2 others in TRP racket: police
Mumbai Police Commissioner has said that the Crime Branch has busted a racket involving Republic TV, Box Cinema and Fakt Marathi that manipulated Television Rating Points (TRPs).
It has been found that a company that is a part of the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) misused confidential data, which had been entrusted to them.
It has apparently been done for wrongful gains of various TV channels, which resulted in a wrongful loss to various advertisers and their agencies.
What is TRP?
The Target Rating Point (TRP) or Television Rating Point is the metric used by the marketing and advertising agencies to evaluate the viewership.
Anyone who watches television for more than a minute is considered a viewer.
How is TRP recorded?
In India, the TRP is recorded by the Broadcast Audience Research Council using Bar-O-Meters that are installed on televisions in selected households.
The Broadcast Audience Research Council is an organisation that functions under the Information and Broadcasting Ministry and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
BARC has installed these meters in 44,000 households across the country, so far.
Audio watermarks are embedded in video content prior to broadcast. These watermarks are not audible to the human ear, but can easily be detected and decoded using dedicated hardware and software.
Viewing details and watermarks are recorded by the Bar-O-Meters.
- Assam jails cannot be detention centres: HC
The Gauhati High Court has said that people declared as foreigners cannot be kept in jails that serve as detention centres, depriving them of basic human rights and human dignity.
Background:
People declared foreigners or illegal migrants in Assam as per the updated National Register of Citizens (NRC) are kept across detention centres within six jails where they share space with others serving time for various crimes.
Directions by the HC:
The Court has issued a notice to the Assam Government to submit a report on the steps taken to set up detention centres outside jail premises and hire any private premises if suitable government accommodations are not available for the purpose.
The HC ruled that jails being used as detention centres were in conflict with the model manual for such centres.
It referred to the Supreme Court’s observation that detainees should be kept in an appropriate place with restricted movements pending deportation or repatriation and provided basic facilities such as electricity, water, hygiene, etc.
- International Barcode of Life (iBOL)
The Union Cabinet was apprised of a MoU signed in June, 2020 between Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) and International Barcode of Life (iBOL).
ZSI and iBOL have come together for further efforts in DNA barcoding.
The MoU will enable ZSI to participate at the Global level programmes like Bioscan and Planetary Biodiversity Mission.
DNA Barcoding
DNA barcoding is a methodology for rapidly and accurately identifying species by sequencing a short segment of standardized gene regions and comparing individual sequences to a reference database.
Zoological Survey of India
The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), founded on 1 July 1916 by Government of India Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, as premier Indian organisation in zoological research and studies to promote the survey, exploration and research of the fauna in the country.
International Barcode of Life
iBOL is a Canadian not-for-profit corporation, established in 2008.
iBOL is a research alliance of nations with the desire to:
transform biodiversity science by building the DNA barcode reference libraries
the sequencing facilities
the informatics platforms
the analytical protocols
the international collaboration required to inventory and assess biodiversity
iBOL maintains the Barcode of Life Data System (BOLD system).
BOLD is a cloud-based data storage and analysis platform developed at the Centre for Biodiversity Genomics in Canada.
It consists of four main modules, a data portal, an educational portal, a registry of BINs (putative species), and a data collection and analysis workbench.
- Domestic Systemically Important Insurers
The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), General Insurance Corporation of India and The New India Assurance Co have been identified as Domestic Systemically Important Insurers (D-SIIs) for 2020-21 by insurance regulator, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).
The IRDAI would identify D-SIIs on an annual basis and disclose the names of such insurers for public information
Key Points
The three public sector insurers have been asked to raise the level of corporate governance.
Identify all relevant risks and promote a sound risk management culture.
The D-SIIs will also be subjected to enhanced regulatory supervision of the IRDAI.
D-SIIs are perceived as insurers that are ‘too big or too important to fail’ (TBTF).
D-SIIs refer to insurers of such size, market importance and domestic and global interconnectedness whose distress or failure would cause a significant dislocation in the domestic financial system.
Thus, the continued functioning of D-SIIs is critical for the uninterrupted availability of insurance services to the national economy.
- National Medical Commission
National Medical Commission (NMC) has replaced the Medical Council of India (MCI), as per the gazette notification issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
MCI was established in 1934 under the Indian Medical Council (IMC) Act, 1933 with the main function of establishing uniform standards of higher qualifications in medicine and recognition of medical qualifications in India and abroad.
The old Act was repealed in 1956 and a new act was enacted in its place. The new act was further modified in 1964, 1993 and 2001.
Key Points
The government dissolved the MCI in 2018 and replaced it with a Board of Governors (BoG), which was chaired by a member of NITI Aayog.
Now, the IMC Act, 1956 stands repealed after the gazette notification, and has been replaced by The National Medical Commission Act that came into existence on 8th August 2019.
The change is aimed at bringing in reforms in the medical education sector and especially aimed at replacing the MCI, which was tainted by corruption and other problems.
The NMC will function as the country’s top regulator of medical education.
It will have four separate autonomous boards for:
Undergraduate medical education.
Postgraduate medical education.
Medical assessment and rating.
Ethics and medical registration.
The common final year Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) examination will now be known as the National Exit Test (NEXT), according to the new medical education structure under the NMC.
NEXT will act as licentiate examination to practice medicine, the criteria for admission to postgraduate medical courses, and also for screening of foreign medical graduates.
Besides, the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET), NEXT will also be applicable to institutes of national importance such as all the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in a bid to ensure a common standard in the medical education sector in the country.
NEET is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA).
Dr. Suresh Chandra Sharma, former head of ENT (Otorhinolaryngology, the study of diseases of the ear, nose, and throat) AIIMS Delhi, has been appointed as its chairman for three years.
- Kaushal Se KalBadlenge: DDU-GKY
The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) has celebrated the foundation day of DeenDayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) as “Kaushal Se KalBadlenge” on the occasion of AntyodayaDiwas (25th September).
Key Points
Agripreneurship (entrepreneurship in agriculture) Programme.
Agripreneurship is defined as generally, sustainable, community-orientated, directly marketed agriculture.
Sustainable agriculture denotes a holistic, systems-oriented approach to farming that focuses on the interrelationships of social, economic, and environmental processes.
Guidelines regarding Captive Employment under DDU-GKY.
Captive employers are businesses which can employ 500 or more in their own organisation or one of their subsidiaries and have suitable in-house training facilities.
Guidelines for Promotion of Integrated Farming Cluster (IFC).
Integrated Farming is a combined approach aimed at efficient sustainable resource management for increased productivity in the cropping system.
It has multiple objectives of sustainability, food security, farmer’s security and poverty reduction by involving livestock, vermicomposting, organic farming, etc.
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for capacity building of Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs)/StartUps and providing incubation support in rural areas.
- FAME India Scheme Phase II
The Government of India has sanctioned 670 Electric buses in the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat and Chandigarh and 241 Charging Stations in Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Gujarat and Port Blair under Phase-II of FAME India Scheme.
Key Points
FAME India is a part of the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan. Main thrust of FAME is to encourage electric vehicles by providing subsidies.
The FAME India Scheme is aimed at incentivising all vehicle segments.
Two phases of the scheme:
Phase I: started in 2015 and was completed on 31st March, 2019
Phase II: started from April, 2019, will be completed by 31st March, 2022
The scheme covers Hybrid & Electric technologies like Mild Hybrid, Strong Hybrid, Plug in Hybrid & Battery Electric Vehicles.
Monitoring Authority: Department of Heavy Industries, the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises.
Fame India Scheme has four focus Areas:
Technology development
Demand Creation
Pilot Projects
Charging Infrastructure
- Post-Harvest Management Centre for medicinal plants
Union government laid e-foundation of Post-Harvest Management Centre for Medicinal Plants at Bhaderwah in Jammu and Kashmir.
21 AYUSH Health & Wellness Centres were also e-inaugrated across different districts of the Union Territory.
During the current year, in Jammu and Kashmir, work on establishing 194 AYUSH Health & Wellness Centres (HWCs) is going against a target of establishing 319 AYUSH Health and Wellness Centres in next 3 years in the UT.
Significance and importance
The centre is first of its kind institute in Bhaderwah area.
It will largerly focuses on interest of farmer’s fraternity.
Many researchers and scholars will visit the district to conduct their research works.
The farmers will get actual education about herbal cultivation besides the produce.
Farmers will be able to sold their products to the Ayush industry as well as in the national market. It will enhance farmer's income.
With the coming of this institute, herbal cultivation will be increased in the entire Chenab valley, new seeds will be produced and given to the farmers for herbal cultivation.
The initiative has been taken to shift the traditional system of farming towards herbal farming which has huge potential in the present times across the world.
The Ministry of AYUSH is also promoting cluster cultivation in far flung areas suitable for herbal cultivation and shall also promote the AtmaNirbhar Abhiyan under the sector.
Components which are being established in the Institute of High-Altitude Medicinal Plants (Post Harvest Management Centre) include:
District Collection Centre
Drying shed
Storage Godown
These shall constitute a complete package for the Farmers, Growers, Traders and entrepreneurs associated with Medicinal Plants Sector.
- MoD accords approval for various arms and equipment worth Rs.2,290 crore
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh chaired Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved proposals for Capital acquisitions of the various equipment required by the Indian Armed Forces on 28th September. The projects worth at an approximate cost of Rs.2,290 crore.
Highlights:
The approved projects include procurement from Domestic Industry and Foreign vendors.
Also, the DAC approved procurement of Static HF Tans-receiver sets and Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW), under the Buy Indian (IDDM) category.
The High frequency (HF) radio sets will enable seamless communication for the field units of the Indian Army and Indian Air Force (IAF). These will be procured at an approx. cost of Rs.540 crore.
The Smart Anti Airfield Weapon will be procured at an approx. cost of Rs.970 crore. It will add to the firepower of the Navy and Airforce.
DAC also approved the procurement of SIG SAUER Assault Rifles to equip the Frontline Troops of the Army. The procurement cost approx. of Rs.780 crore.
- EPFO’s New Facility on UMANG App
The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has started a facility on the Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance (UMANG) App which enables members of the Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS) 1995 to apply online for Scheme Certificates.
EPS is a social security scheme that was launched in 1995 and is provided by EPFO.
It makes provisions for pensions for the employees in the organised sector after the retirement at the age of 58 years.
Key Points
It is issued to members who withdraw their Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) contribution but wish to retain their membership with EPFO, to avail pension benefits on the attainment of retirement age.
Members become eligible for pension only if they have been, cumulatively, a member of the EPS, 1995 for at least 10 years.
Upon joining a new job, Scheme Certificate ensures that previous pensionable service is added to pensionable service rendered with the new employer thereby, increasing the number of pension benefits.
Further, Scheme Certificate is also useful for family members to avail family pension, in case of the untimely death of the eligible member.
- DRDO successfully flight tested BrahMos Missile Featuring Indigenous Booster
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully flight testes BrahMos surface-to-surface supersonic cruise missile.
The missile was tested for designated range on 30 September 2020 from ITR, Balasore in Odisha. The test is a more major step in enhancing the indigenous content.
BrahMos LACM:
The BrahMos Land-Attack Cruise Missile (LACM) cruise at a top speed of Mach 2.8.
The Missile featured indigenous Booster and Airframe Section along with many other Made in India sub-systems.
This successful launch has paved the way for the serial production of the indigenous booster and other indigenous components of the powerful BrahMos Weapon System. It is in line with Atmanirbhar Bharat.
- 2nd Sero Survey report: ICMR
The second sero survey by the ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) to assess the real exposure of the Indian population to the Covid-19 virus has shown that over 6.6% of the individuals, or 1 in 15 of those above 10 years, had been exposed to Covid-19 by August.
Key Findings
Urban slum and urban non-slum areas had higher SARS-CoV-2 infection prevalence than that of the rural areas in the country.
Of 29,082 people surveyed from August 17 to September 22, 6.6 per cent showed evidence of past exposure to Covid-19.
Lower infection to case ratio in August compared to May reflects substantial increase in testing, detection.
7.1 per cent of the adult population showed evidence of past exposure to Covid-19.
In the light of the upcoming festivities, winter season and mass gathering, inventive containment strategies need to be implemented by the states.
The survey was conducted in the same 700 villages/wards (in urban) from 70 districts from 21 states covered during the first survey.
Since a large proportion of the population is yet susceptible-prevention fatigue to be avoided and 5T strategy (Test, trace, treat, technology) to be followed.
- Defence India Startup Challenge (DISC 4)
Defence Minister launched the Defence India Startup Challenge (DISC 4) during the iDEX event.
The initiatives aimed at expanding the horizons of Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) ecosystem
Defence Minister also launched the iDEX4 Fauji initiative and Product Management Approach (PMA) guidelines during the event.
iDEX
iDEX (Innovations for defence excellence) is an ecosystem that fosters Innovation and Technology Development for Defence and Aerospace.
iDEX would be a decisive step towards achieving self-reliance in the spirit of the AtmaNirbhar Bharat campaign.
Objectives
Facilitate rapid development of new, indigenized, and innovative technologies for the Indian defence and aerospace sector, to meet needs for these sectors in shorter timelines.
Create a culture of engagement with innovative startups, to encourage co-creation for defence and aerospace sectors.
Empower a culture of technology co-creation and co-innovation within the defence and aerospace sectors.
- When is the Gandhi Jayanti observed?
Gandhi Jayanti is observed on 2nd October ever year. Mahatma Gandhi is known as Father of the Nation. Gandhi Jayanti is celebrated across the country and it is one of the national holidays.
Mahatma Gandhi:
M.K. Gandhi was born on 2 October 1869. He was known for his non-violence protest during the British rule. He was a leading figure of freedom movements whether in India or South Africa. India got freedom from colonial rule with his efforts.
Major events in the freedom struggle:
In 1906-07, Satyagraha in South Africa
In 1910, Satyagraha against emigration and restriction in Natal
In 1917, Champaran Satyagraha
In 1917-1918, Kheda Satyagraha
In 1919, Khilafat Movement
In 1920, Non-Cooperation Movement
In 1930, Civil-Disobedience Movement
In 1942, Quit India Movement
The above major movements that were led by Mahatma Gandhi helped India in attaining freedom from the British rule. Gandhi was assassinated by Nathuram Godse, a Hindu nationalist, on 30 January 1948.
- Union Minister Thaawarchand Gehlot e-launched ASIIM
Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot e-launched the Ambedkar Social Innovation and Incubation Mission (ASIIM) under Venture Capital Fund for SCs.
The aim is to promote innovation and enterprise among SC students studying in higher educational institutions.
Highlights:
Venture Capital Fund for SCs (VCF-SCs) will implement the ASIIM initiative
Under this initiative VCF-SC will focus on SC students and young entrepreneurs working in Technology Business Incubators (TBIs) that are supported by Department of Science and Technology (DST) in higher education and technology institution including Business / Management schools.
VCF-SC will support ASIIM by partnering with it and providing guidance, mentoring, providing equity suand/ entrepreneurs.
The budget of ASIIM for the next 4 years has been kept at Rs.19320 lakhs.
VCF-SCs:
VCF-SCs was set up in 2016 with the Fund size of Rs.500 crore. So far, VCF-SC has sanctioned financial assistance to 118 companies to the tune of Rs.444.14 crore.
Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment has modified the Venture Capital for Scheduled Castes (VCF-SC) guidelines with an aim to further motivate and encourage Innovative entrepreneurial Startups.
M/o SJ&E aims to keep focused attention in providing equity support to entities and companies of young SC entrepreneurs working on innovative and technology-based ideas.
- Dr Harsh Vardhan launched CSIR Technologies for rural development
The Union Minister of Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Health & Family Welfare, Dr Harsh Vardhan launched CSIR Technologies for rural development on the occasion of CSIR-NISTADS 40th Foundation Day.
It was launched under a joint initiative of Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT-D), Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA), and Vijnana Bharti (VIBHA).
He also released CSIR-NISTADS (National Institute of Science, Technology and Development Studies) e-Compendium and e-Coffee Table Book, on the occasion.
Highlights:
CSIR Technologies seeks to explore and reinvent innovative approaches for actions from different stakeholders.
The programme aims to enable the outreach of CSIR rural technologies to society.
The technologies released included:
Improved beehive for quality and hygienic extraction of honey, CSIR-IHBT, Palampur
Technology for manufacturing of Ginger paste, CSIR-CFTRI, Mysore
Dehumidified drier for food and Agri products, CSIR-NIIST, Thiruvananthapuram
Technology for agricultural waste (sugarcane bagasse, wheat bran, and fruit peels) based biodegradable plates, cups and cutleries, CSIR-NIIST, Thiruvananthapuram
Unnat Bharat Abhiyan:
Unnat Bharat Abhiyan programme of the Ministry of Education. It was conceptualised and launched in IIT-Delhi. It aims to introduce transformational change in rural development processes by leveraging knowledge institutions to help build the architecture of an Inclusive India. Un
Unnat Bharat Abhiyan constitutes of 45 Regional Coordinating Institutions (RCIs) and 2,614 Participating Institutions (PIs). A total of 13,760 villages have been adopted under Unnat Bharat Abhiyan, so far.
- Annual Crime in India 2019 report: NCRB
National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) launched the annual Crime in India 2019 report on 30 September. The report stated that the Crime against Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) has increased to over 7% and 26% respectively in 2019 when compared to 2018.
Highlights:
As per the report, a total of 45,935 cases were registered for committing a crime against SCs against 42,793 cases were recorded in 2018, which shows an increase of 7.3% in 2019.
With 11,829 cases, Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of crimes against SCs in 2019. It was followed by 6,794 cases in Rajasthan and 6,544 cases in Bihar.
Considering the number of cases of rape of women belonging to SCs, Rajasthan has topped the list with 554 cases. It is followed by Uttar Pradesh at 537 and Madhya Pradesh at 510 cases.
The report stated that a total of 8,257 cases were registered for committing a crime against STs. The mark shows a raise of 26.5% over 2018, which registered 6,528 such cases. With 1,922 cases, Madhya Pradesh recorded the highest number of cases against STs. It was followed by Rajasthan, which recorded 1,797 cases and Odisha-576 cases.
The highest rape cases of tribal women, 358, was registered in Madhya Pradesh. It was followed by 180 incidents in Chhattisgarh and 114 in Maharashtra.
Under cognizable crimes, a total of 51,56,172 comprising 32,25,701 Indian Penal Code (IPC) cases and 19,30,471 Special and Local Laws (SLL) crimes were registered in 2019. This number shows a rise of 1.6% in the registration of cases over 2018, which registered 50,74,635 cases.
- Union Minister launched ‘Tribes Indiae-Marketplace’
Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Shri Arjun Munda Launches largest Market of Tribal Products ‘Tribes Indiae-Marketplace’ and 2 New Tribes India Outlets in Kolkata and Rishikesh. The initiative aims to transform tribal lives and livelihoods.
Highlights:
The Tribal E marketplace, market.tribesindia.com, showcases the produce and handicrafts of tribal enterprises from across the country.
These new TRIFED initiatives will connect tribal forest dwellers and artisans with national and international markets.
It will enable the economic welfare of these communities and bring them closer towards mainstream development.
It aims to help the tribal people to market their produce/ products directly.
The move is a major step towards the digitisation of tribal commerce.
The Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) focuses on skill development of tribal artisans to make them more skilled and will provide them a market for their tribal products.
- AYUSH Minister inaugurates Tribal Unit of NIN at GoheBudruk in Pune
The Union Minister of AYUSH Shri Shripad Yesso Naik virtually inaugurated the new unit of National Institute of Naturopathy (NIN) to serve the tribal population at GoheBudruk in Pune, Maharashtra.
Highlights:
The new tribal unit of NIN at scheduled tribal areas comes with a 20 bedded facility to provide free clinical services to the tribal population of the area.
There is a training unit focusing on employment and health of tribal youth.
A research unit on tribal practices of health maintenance has been started. It will act as a repository of knowledge base and will work in the areas of education, nutrition and health problems of the tribal population.
The tribal unit has been started with cooperation and assistance from the Tribal Development Department, Government of Maharashtra.
Published date : 22 Oct 2020 04:54PM
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