ARCHIVES

GS-1

Programmes on Awareness of Indian Culture 

(Topic: Indian Heritage and Culture)

Objective-

• To preserve, promote and protect the rich tangible and intangible cultural heritage of the country
• To involve youth and children so as to connect them with various aspects of Indian culture
• The programmes conducted cater to the needs of all sections of society and are aimed at promoting a sense of pride about India’s ancient and diverse culture amongst the citizens of India

Areas: Dance, Music, Theatre, Art, Literature, Museums, Archives, Libraries, Archaeology, Anthropology, Folk culture and Buddhist traditions

AdarshSmarak Scheme for Conservation of Monuments

(Topic: Indian Monuments and its Conservation) 

Objective-

• To make monument visitor friendly
• To upgrade/provide wash rooms, drinking water, signage, cafeteria and Wi-Fi facility
• To provide Interpretation and audio-video  centers
• To streamline waste water and garbage disposal and rain water harvesting system
• To make monument accessible to differently abled
• To implement Swachh Bharat Abhiyan

The Archaeological Survey of India has identified 25 monuments for AdarshSmarak Scheme for up-gradation of tourist related amenities

GS-2

Road Mapping Through Satellites 

 (Topic: Infrastructure and Technology)

Use of space technology for preparation of

• Detailed Project Reports,
• Monitoring of Construction
• Road Asset Management

MOU: Between NHAI with that of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)& North East Centre for Technology Application and Research (NECTAR) for use of space technology

Employment of several technologies/procedures/methods:

• Construction and maintenance of Indian roads such as cold mix & warm mix technologies for bituminous roads,
• Use of waste plastic, industrial waste (copper slag, zinc slag, steel slag etc.),
• Use of mastic asphalt, micro-surfacing,
• Design & specifications for construction and maintenance of roads & bridges,
• Procedures for road safety measures,
• Use of fly ash in road embankment,
• Methods for maintenance of cement concrete roads, etc.

Memorandum of Understanding between India and Indonesia in the field new and renewable energy cooperation

(Topic: India and its international relations) 

Objective-

• To establish the basis for a cooperative institutional framework
• To encourage and promote technical bilateral cooperation on new and renewable energy issues on the basis of mutual benefit, equality and reciprocity

Areas of cooperation—

• Capacity building,
• Exchange of scientific and technological information and data,
• Transfer of technology on non-commercial basis,
• Development of joint research or technical projects on subjects of mutual interest,
• Encouragement and promotion of investment,

Encouragement of policy dialogue and other areas

E-Library 

(Topic: Issues relating to development and management of Social/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources)

Objective—

• Integrate existing digital contents across educational institutions
• Provide single window access with e-learning facility to different groups of users

E-Library-

• Provide all kind of e-learning materials to learners under the ‘National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology’ (NMEICT)
• E-Books available in institutional libraries are connected to the National e-Library
• Material can be searched and located through this National e-Library
• All NCERT made available freely through the National e-Library
• The collections include textbooks for all classes in English, Hindi and Urdu versions converted into e-pub-3.0 format
• Available with an exclusive license for free download and dissemination

Cleaning of Ganga and Yamuna 

(Topic: Water Resources, Development and Management)

1985: Ganga Action Plan (GAP)

1993:Yamuna Action Plan (YAP)

2009: Setting up of ‘National Ganga River Basin Authority’ (NGRBA) for:

• Effective abatement of pollution
• Conservation of the river Ganga by adopting a holistic approach with the river basin as the unit of planning

2015:‘NamamiGange Program’

• Comprehensive approach to rejuvenate the river Ganga and all its tributaries under one umbrella by consolidating the existing ongoing efforts

• Primary focus of the program is on pollution abatement through construction of-
  • Sewage Treatment Plants,
  • Common Effluent Treatment Plants,
  • Ghat Development,
  • Solid Waste Management

• Other activities to be undertaken-
  • Bio-diversity conservation,
  • Large scale tree plantation,
  • Making villages along river Ganga Open Defecation Free (ODF),
  • Research studies and public outreach programmes

Note:Yamuna being one of the tributaries is included under the ‘NamamiGange program’

Expansion of Healthcare Services 

(Topic: Issues relating to development and management of Health Services)

Special measures taken under National Health Management (NHM) for the expansion of health services-

• Launch of India Newborn Action Plan (INAP)
• Intensified Diarrhoea Control Fortnight
• Integrated Action Plan for Pneumonia and Diarrhoea (IAPPD)
• National Deworming day
• Launch of Mission Indradhanush:
• New vaccines
• Launch of Nationwide Anti-TB drug resistance survey
• Kala Azar Elimination Plan
• Kayakalp–Award to Public Health facilities
• Operational Guidelines have been  issued under NHM on
• NHM Free Drugs Service Initiative
• NHM Free Diagnostic Services Initiative
• Mobile Medical Units
• Swachhta Guidelines for public Health Facilities

“2016: UK-INDIA Year of Education, Research and Innovation” Launched 

(Topic: Human Resource Development)

• India and United Kingdom launched a joint initiative “2016: UK-INDIA Year of Education, Research and Innovation”
• Global Initiative of Academic Networks GIAN Program: Enable more UK academicians to come to India in 2016
• Mutual interest in research could be picked up out of the ten research priority areas under IMPRINT (IMPacting Research Innovation and Technology)
• Under the UK Generation India program, they would be looking forward to send 25,000 UK students to India during the next 5 (five) years
• The third phase of UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI-III), will provide a basic framework for the bilateral cooperation between India and UK over the next 5 years

Focus on:

• Leadership and faculty development,
• Integration of skills in the education system,
• E-partnership & research incubation,
• Development of blended learning courses to increase employability, with focus on manufacturing and service sectors, to meet the requirements of “Make in India”
• Enhancing mobility
• UK: Looking forward to support more UK students to India under ‘Generation UK India’ Program

GS-3

Implementation of National Agriculture Market Project 

(Topic: Agriculture and e-technology in aid of farmers)

To bring in—

• Operational efficiency
• Transparency in the mandi operations
• Enhance market access for the farmers
• Eliminate information asymmetry
• Provide guidance to the States/ Union Territories (UTs) for integration of their regulated wholesale markets with the National Agriculture Market NAM e-platform
• Train all participants (farmers, commission agents, traders, employees of the Market, data entry operators, etc.) in the market where the NAM is adopted
• Facilitate integration with the implementing agency i.e. Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC)
• Strategic Partner (SP)- Provide one year local support to each participating mandi
• Set up a help desk to support day to day operations and to answer queries in the State language

Subsidy to Farmers for Purchasing Agricultural Implements 

(Topic: Issues related to direct and indirect subsidies)

Initiated by-

Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare (DAC&FW) provides Subsidy to farmers through State Governments under different schemes

Schemes-

• Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM),
• National Food Security Mission (NFSM),
• National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil Palm (NMOOP),
• Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH)
• RashtriyaKrishiVikasYojna (RKVY)

Objective-

• For proper purchase of various agricultural equipment and machines
• Provide subsidy on such agricultural equipment which helps in increasing agriculture production and productivity,
• Improve utilization efficiency of costlier inputs such as seeds, fertilizers and irrigation water, besides reducing human drudgery & cost of cultivation

Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization Scheme—

• Increasing the reach of farm mechanization to small and marginal farmers through-
• Promoting ‘Custom Hiring Centres’
• Creating hubs for hi-tech & high value farm equipment
• Creating awareness among farmers through demonstration and capacity building activities

Farm Machinery Training & Testing Institutes: Provides training to the farmers on operation, repair and maintenance of agricultural machines and equipment

Steps taken to improve the availability and to contain prices of essential food items

(Topic: Issues of buffer stock and food security)

Steps taken-

• National Consultation Meeting held with States/UTs to keep prices of essential commodities, especially pulses and onions under control
• Regular review meeting on price and availability situation is being held at the highest level to monitor the price situation and recommend appropriate interventions
• Measures taken to improve availability by incentivizing production through higher Minimum Export Price (MSP)
• Price Stabalization Fund (PSF) is being implemented to regulate price volatility of agricultural commodities
• Advisories issued to State Governments to take strict action against hoarding & black marketing and effectively enforce the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 and the Prevention of Black-marketing and Maintenance of Supplies of Essential Commodities Act, 1980

Encouragement to Domestic Households for Installation of Solar Panels 

(Topic: Energy, Conservation, Environment Impact Assessment)

Aim— Government has set a target for installation of 100 GW solar-power by the year 2022

Steps taken by Government–

Financial support in the form of-

• Generation based incentives
• Viability gap funding for solar power projects

Fiscal incentives like–

• Accelerated depreciation,
• Concessional custom duty,
• Excise duty exemption,
• Income tax holiday for 10 days

Concessional loans from Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency– Bank loans as a part of home loan/ home improvement loan for rooftop solar systems

Subsidy for–

• Grid connected rooftop solar systems,
• Solar pumping systems,
• Concentrated solar thermal and
• Other off-grid solar applications

National Mission for Electric Mobility 

(Topic: Mobilisation of Resources, Technology, Development and Employment)

A scheme namely FAME – India (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India) has been formulated by Department of Heavy Industries under National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020

Focus of the Scheme–

• Technology Development,
• Demand Creation,
• Pilot Projects,
• Charging Infrastructure

Objective-

• To allow hybrid and electric vehicles to become the first choice for the purchasers so that these vehicles can replace the conventional vehicles and thus reduce liquid fuel consumption in the country
• Setting up public charging stations in various cities where the population of electric vehicles is growing

Benefit-

• Pure electric vehicle produces around 35%~45% lower CO2 as compared to equivalent gasoline vehicle in India
• In future, in view of more and more renewable energy based electricity production in the country, electric vehicles are going to emit lesser CO2 on a Well-to-Wheel basis

Steps taken to provide security to Railway passengers 

(Topic: Railway and Security)

Aim—

To ensure security-Prevention of crime + Registration of cases and Maintenance of law and order over station premises and trains; by strengthening and upgrading of security infrastructure at sensitive stations- by installation of Close Circuit Television (CCTV) Cameras and metal detectors

Steps Taken-

• RPF (Railway Protection Force) holds regular coordination meetings with State Police at all levels to ensure proper registration and investigation of crime by Government Railway Police
• RPF Crime prevention and detection squads and special teams are formed to keep vigil on the criminals in trains/stations to prevent crime
• Joint drives by RPF/GRP (Government Railway Police) and Commercial Department are conducted from time to time against the unauthorized entry of passengers in trains and at railway premises
• Passenger outreach programmes have been launched including announcement through loudhailers / PA system, pasting of stickers and providing Security Help Line Number 182 of RPF Security Control Room for security related assistance.
• Total 202 Railway stations have been identified for installation of Close Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras etc. under Integrated Security System (ISS) over Indian Railways, out of which so far, CCTV cameras have been installed over 88 stations under ISS and at 114 stations installation of CCTVs is under process