ARCHIVES

GS-1

 “Must-See Monuments and Archaeological Sites of India”

(Topic: Indian Heritage and Culture)

Portal Developed by- Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for the “Must-see Monuments and Archaeological Sites of India”

Aim: To highlight outstanding monuments and sites in India, comprising world heritage properties, sites under UNESCO’s Tentative List, ASI’s ticketed and other non-ticketed prominent monuments

About the Portal-

• Hundred monuments have been identified for this purpose
• Sites selected on the basis of their-
• Exceptional art and architecture,
• Planning and design,
• Displaying exemplary engineering skills and being a unique testimony to the civilization in the past
• Portal carries brief history regarding each monument and information such as-
• Connectivity and access,
• Weather conditions,
• Timings of opening and closing,
• Facilitates 360 Degree/panoramic views (in collaboration with Google) and other Must-See monuments in the vicinity
• Information for the portal including photographs has been collected from various field offices
• Portal work is in progress and it is expected to launch it within a month

GS-2

E-enabled Track Management System (TMS) & its Mobile Application

(Topic: Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance-applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential; citizens, transparency and accountability and institutional and other measures)

E-enablement of Track Management System (TMS)

• Important milestone in promoting e-working in civil engineering department of Indian Railways
• Various activities of Track Inspection, Monitoring and Maintenance have come on IT platform with its implementation
• System designed for decentralized data capturing, speedy information dissemination along with centralized data keeping and analysis
• Provides alerts in the form of SMS and E-mails to all concerned, right from Jr. Engineer in field up to the Railway Board

TMS Mobile Application

• Helps to view certain important exception reports
• Useful for senior management and for officials on the move

Track Store Inventory Management

• Application covers all the track inventory holding units in the country numbering more than three thousand
• Enable optimization & balancing of inventory and speedy disposal of scrap and thereby increasing earnings from this source

Contribution-

• Improvement in system efficiency
• Intangible benefits to the humanity in the form of environment protection by reduction of carbon footprint which is a global cause of concern at present
• System is a great Digital India initiative of Indian Railways is an excellent example of e-governance
• System will contribute significantly to planet earth by removing more than 1.0 lakh registers related to track maintenance
• Result in saving of close to 500 trees a year

New Crop Insurance Scheme – Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana

(Topic: Government Schemes and Policies)

Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the ‘Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana’ – a path breaking scheme for farmers’ welfare

Highlights of scheme-

• New Crop Insurance Scheme is in line with One Nation – One Scheme theme
• Uniform premium to be paid by farmers for-
• Kharif Crops- 2%
• Rabi Crops- 1.5%
• Annual commercial and horticultural crops- 5%
• Premium rates to be paid by farmers are very low and balance premium will be paid by the Government to provide full insured amount to the farmers against crop loss on account of natural calamities
• There is no upper limit on Government subsidy. Even if balance premium is 90%, it will be borne by the Government

Changes Made-

• Earlier, there was a provision of capping the premium rate which resulted in low claims being paid to farmers. Capping was done to limit Government out go on the premium subsidy
• Capping has now been removed and farmers will get claim against full sum insured without any reduction

Use of Technology- 

• Use of technology encouraged to a great extent
• Smart phones used to capture and upload data of crop cutting to reduce the delays in claim payment to farmers
• Remote sensing will be used to reduce the number of crop cutting experiments

MoU between India and Maldives for Health 

(Topic: India and its International Relations, Agreement etc)

MoU’s covers the following areas of cooperation- 

• Exchange & training of medical doctors, officials, other health professionals and experts;
• Assistance in development of human resources and setting up of health care facilities;
• Medical and health research development;
• Management of healthcare sector and public health services;
• Procurement of generic and essential drugs and assistance in sourcing of drug supplies;
• Health promotion and disease prevention;
• Traditional and; complementary Medicine
• Telemedicine; and
• Any other area of cooperation as may be mutually decided upon

Help-

• Facilitate greater cooperation between the two countries, especially for assisting Maldives for development of human resources and facilities for healthcare
• Enhanced cooperation in the field of health will foster great friendship and relations between the two countries

“Matdaata Mahotsav”

(Topic: Election Commission)

Organised by-Election Commission of India (ECI) from 14th to 17th of January, 2016 ahead of the 6^th National Voters’ Day on the 25^th of January, 2016

Aim-

• Involving voters and citizens from all walks of life specifically women, youth, defence personnel, non-resident Indians, persons with disabilities, and those from marginalised sections for enhanced sense of inclusion, greater awareness about the electoral process
• Strengthening SVEEP (Systematic Voters’ Education & Electoral Participation) programme
• Mahotsav would encourage ideas and suggestions for greater and qualitative participation in elections while graffiti, music, dance, theatre and poetry will provide a platform for expression and celebration
• Games and quizzes will give opportunities to one and all to engage in the frolic
• Some off-venue but simultaneous events especially on Army Day and Youth Day, themed on electoral participation, will help reach out to masses in greater and effective ways

National exhibition–

• Displaying the good practices on various aspects of election management and also describe the process of elections through interactive models, presentations and exhibits from different parts of the country
• Information and facilitation centres, mock polling station and a range of interactive activities. Multitude of activities like debates and discussions, music and dance, street plays and games, quizzes and contests during the event aim to keep up the spirit of festivity
• Exhibitions would provide a glimpse into best practices in various dimensions of election management- electoral roll, IT and technology, security, mobilisation of personnel and resources, voters’ education, election material, expenditure monitoring and many more innovations by States/ UTs in India through interactive models, three dimensional structures, digital presentations, display of publications and election material, mock set-ups, activities and role-play, graphics and films
• The complete electoral process from registration to voting will help visitors to experience and understand their duty and right of adult franchise better
• Election Commission of India will felicitate the nominated State Icons who have made valuable contribution towards voter education and awareness

M/O Tourism launches new skill initiatives for youths on “National Youth Day” to mark Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekanand 

(Topic: Government Initiatives and Policies)

Launched by- Ministry of Tourism

Occasion of- “National Youth Day” to mark the Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekanand

Aim-To improve the sectoral service standards, which is one of the pre-requisites for attracting tourists in larger numbers

A SENSITIZATION PROGRAMME FOR THE EXISTING SERVICE PROVIDERS AT VARANASI

Target-

• Boatmen,
• Rickshaw pullers,
• Pandas,
• Porters,
• Shopkeepers & Street Vendors ( in and around Ghats and temples)

About Programme-

• Course duration: 4 days
• The trainees will be compensated for the wage loss
• Programme implemented by: The Indian Institute of Tourism & Travel Management

Objectives of the programme- To eventually achieve an improved tourist specific service ambience and to further the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan

A PROGRAMME TO GROOM YOUNG PERSONS INTERESTED IN HOME DELIVERY SERVICE AS AN OCCUPATION

Target- Persons who are at least matriculates and in the age group of 18-28 years

About the Programme-

• Course duration: 6 Days
• Programme Implemented by- The Indian Institute of Tourism & Travel Management, Institutes of Hotel Management & Food Craft Institutes

Objective- Prepare the trainees to deliver food at home with skill, style and civility

A PROGRAMME OF TRAINING TO BRING UP “PARYATAK MITRA”

Target- College-going students including those enrolled with the NCC& NSS, in the age group of 18-28 years

About Programme–

• Course duration- 10 Days
• Programme Implemented by: The Indian Institute of Tourism & Travel Management, first at destinations identified under the PRASAD scheme of the Ministry of Tourism

Objective- Attempt to inculcate appropriate tourism traits and knowledge among the trainees to enable them to act / work as Tourist Facilitators (Paryatak Mitra)

A TRAINING PROGRAMME TO BRING UP TOURIST FACILITATORS IN THE NORTH EAST

Target-10+2 pass-outs in the age group of 18-28 years

About Programme-

• Course Duration-30 Days
• Programme Implemented by: The Indian Institute of Tourism & Travel Management

Objective- The programme limited to the North East, will be to achieve better tourist satisfaction in terms of availability of skilled tourist facilitators

GS-3

Road Safety Week

(Topic: Infrastructure- Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc)

Organised by- Ministry of Road Transport & Highways

Road Safety Week Held From: 11^th January 2016 throughout the country

Participants- Various stakeholders+ Different departments of State Governments+ Traffic Police+ Vehicle manufacturers+ Transporters’ Association+ PSUs+ Corporate

Aim-

• To create awareness among general public to improve the safety on road
• To give an opportunity to all stakeholders to contribute to the cause of road safety
• Awareness about various causes of road accidents and measures to prevent them

Program Highlight-

• Organizing various activities with School, College students, drivers and all other road users
• Activities include display of banners, road signage and pamphlets related to road safety

The Ministry has also organized a ‘Walkathon’ from India Gate on 11^th January, 2016 in association with Delhi Police and Society for Indian Automobile Manufactures (SIAM)

Government Steps– Implementation of National Road Safety Policy by improving

• Engineering of roads,
• Improving enforcement,
• Improving emergency care and taking up awareness campaigns for citizens

Indian Navy to present a guideline document on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) during Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) in Bangladesh  

(Topic:  Disaster and Security challenges and their management in border areas; linkages of organised crime with terrorism)

• Chief of the Naval Staff is on an official visit to Bangladesh from 10 to 14 Jan 16 to attend the 5th Edition of Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS)
• Indian Navy presenting a guideline document on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR)

Theme of the Seminar this year: ‘Fostering Partnership in IOR: Charting course for Maritime Cooperative Engagement’

Aim of Document –

• To provide guidelines for developing a speedy + responsive+ coordinated + effective HADR for IONS members whenever required
• CNS is calling on political + military counterparts from Bangladesh and IONS members/observers to further cement bilateral relations

IONS- 

• Launched in Feb 08 to capitalise upon regional strengths of IOR littorals; is the 21^st century‘s first significant International maritime-security initiative

• Members: 35 littoral states in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) grouped into four sub-regions (South Asian, West Asian, East African and South East Asian littorals including Australia)
• IONS Chairmanship is rotated sequentially through each of the four sub-regions (to ensure that challenges of each region receive due emphasis)
• Bangladesh Navy is conducting the IONS-2016 from 10-14 Jan 2016 at Dhaka and would be taking over the Chair of IONS from Australia for the term 2016 -2018
• IONS Chair held by-
• India – 2008 to 2010
• UAE – 2010 to 2012
• South Africa- 2012 to 2014
• Current Chair – Australia

IONS Aim-

To provide a regional forum through which the Chiefs-of-Navy (or equivalent maritime agency) of all the littoral states of the IOR periodically meet to constructively engage each other through-

• Creation and
• Promotion of regionally relevant mechanisms, events, and activities

National Industry Conclave on Skills

(Topic: Effects of Liberalisation on the Economy, Changes in industrial policy and their effects on Industrial Growth)

Organised by– Union Government, held on the occasion of the 153rd Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda

Participants– Ministries and Corporate, Industry Leaders from Corporate like- Tata, TCS, Reliance Communication, etc.

Aim-

• Ensuring that the industry joins the Skill India Mission in a big way
• Meeting of industry leaders who are the stakeholders in the skill ecosystem, to conceive and partner towards realising the vision of Skill India
• Conclave will bring together Industry captains and professionals from across Industries onto one platform to deliberate on important issues related to Skill Development in India
• Platform to bring about synergies and convergence across all and contribute collectively to the success of Skill India
• Topics discussed-
• Public Private Partnership in Skill Development,
• Skill imperative for industrial growth,
• Improving Livelihood of Rural India through Skill India