IASbaba Press Information Bureau 12^th June to 18^th June 2017

ARCHIVES

GS-1

National Mission on Cultural Mapping of India

(Topic: Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India.)

What: This Mission is part of the ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ umbrella. Ministry of Culture launched it in the year of commemoration of the birth centenary of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay.

Aim

• Converting the vast and widespread cultural canvas of India into an objective cultural map
• Designing a mechanism to fulfil the aspirations of the whole artist community of the nation
• Preserving the rich cultural heritage of this country in the form of a cultural repository of artists and art forms

The Mission also seeks to open a direct channel of communication of artists with the Government and peer to peer communication among artists for talent honing and handholding of each other.

The Cultural Mapping of India portal will serve as a repository/consolidated database of information about cultural assets and resources i.e. a cultural inventory at one place for essential planning, sustainable economic development and for preserving the scattered and near extinct art forms.

GS-2

Anuyatra

(Topics: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.)

What: it is an initiative by by the Government of Kerala under its “Anuyatra” – or walking together campaign – for the persons with special needs.

It has been observed that

• A majority of the persons with special needs reside in rural areas where accessibility, availability, and utilization of rehabilitation services and its cost-effectiveness are the major issues to be considered.
• A UN supported survey had estimated that- 1.67% of the population in the age bracket 0-19 has special needs and that 35.29% of all people living with special needs are children.
• India has about 12 million children with special needs but only 1% of such children have access to school.

In 1978, India had signed on to the Alma Ata declaration on Public health which stated that comprehensive primary health care should include promotive, preventive, curative, and rehabilitative care.

It was the first international declaration underlining the importance of primary health care.

Now Alma Ata is called Almaty.

Atal Pension Yojana under Aadhar

(Topics: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.)

What: Atal Pension Yojana (APY) has now been included under the Section 7 of the Aadhaar Act. As per it, any individual who is eligible to receive benefits under the APY will have to furnish proof of possession of Aadhaar number or undergo enrollment under Aadhaar authentication.

Why: to bring in transparency, efficiency and to enable beneficiaries to get their entitlement directly in a convenient and seamless manner.

Also, Aadhaar card has been constituted as the primary document in identification of the beneficiary under the Aadhaar Act which came into effect from 12th September 2016.

Atal Pension Yojana

• It is a government backed pension scheme in India targeted at the unorganised sector.
• The minimum age of joining APY is 18 years and maximum age is 40 years.
• Under the APY, guaranteed minimum pension of Rs. 1,000/-, 2,000/-, 3,000/-, 4,000 and 5,000/- per month will be given at the age of 60 years depending on the contributions by the subscribers.

APY subscribers’ base is more than 54 Lakhs subscribers.

Atal Pension Yojana (APY) can now be subscribed digitally

• Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has now introduced “APY@eNPS” which involves a complete digital enrolment process.

ANUGA

(Topic: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests)

• It stands for Allgemeine Nahrungs Und Genußmittel Ausstellung ( General Food and Non essential Provisions Exhibition)
• It is world’s biggest and most important trade fair for Food and beverage trade
• It takes place biennially and ANUGA 2017 is 34^th edition
• ANUGA is the leading export platform with 7,189 exhibitors from 109 countries with over 85% of Exhibitors from abroad.
• Ministry of Commerce & Industry and Ministry of Food Processing Industry are jointly sponsoring this Indian branding at ANUGA, 2017.
• India is a partner country of ANUGA 2017.

Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS)

(Topic: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.)

What: Ministry of Tribal Affairs has actively initiated various efforts during the last three years to make more EMRS.

• Eklavya Model Residential School Scheme was started in 1998 and first school was started in the year 2000 in Maharashtra.
• EMRSs have been functioning as institutions of excellence for tribal students.
• Results of these schools have been generally better than other Government schools in the tribal areas.
• In order to further educational opportunities for more ST children, Government seeks to extend the facility of EMRSs in all the 672 Blocks where ST population is more than 50% of the total population in a span of next five years.
• As per existing EMRS Guidelines of 2010, at least one EMRS is to be set up in each Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) / Integrated Tribal Development Project (ITDP) having 50% ST population in the area.

Intensified Diarrhoea Control Fortnight (IDCF)

(Topics: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.)

What: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched the Intensified Diarrhea Control Fortnight (IDCF) in order to intensify efforts to reduce child deaths due to diarrhoea.

• The Ministry has made it a national priority to bring health outcomes among children to a level equitable with the rest of the world.
• Through this initiative, the Ministry will mobilize health personnel, State Governments and other stakeholders to prioritize investment in control of diarrhea, one of the most common childhood illnesses.

Aim- to create mass awareness about the most effective and low-cost diarrhoea treatment— a combination of Oral Rehydration Salt (ORS) solution and Zinc tablets.

• Almost all the deaths due to diarrhoea can be averted by preventing and treating dehydration by use of ORS (Oral Rehydration Solution), administration of Zinc tablets along with adequate nutritional intake by the child.
• Diarrhoea can be prevented with safe drinking water, sanitation, breastfeeding/appropriate nutrition and hand-washing.
• Other preventive and promotive interventions include Vitamin A supplementation, promoting early initiation of breastfeeding, exclusive breastfeeding up to 6 months etc.
• Besides this, introduction of Rotavirus vaccine under UIP will also help in reducing diarrhoea mortality due to rotavirus disease.

International Labour Conference, 2017

(Topic: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests)

What: The 106th Session of International Labour Conference (ILC) was held from 5-16th June 2017. Here, India expressed satisfaction over growing coherence between SDGs and agenda of ILO and other UN reforms, commitment for a safe, healthy and happy future for children and also furthering of the commitment to provide social security for 450 million workforce in the informal sector. India has reaffirmed its commitment for promoting the welfare of the workers in and outside the country including promoting their skill development and protecting their rights.

India’s participation

In a historic step towards eradication of Child Labour from the country, India ratified

1. International Labour Organization’s Convention No 138 (minimum age for employment)
2. International Labour Organization’s Convention No 182 (worst forms of child labour)

This is to symbolise its commitment and initiatives for eradication of child labour and attainment of Sustainable Development Goal 8.7 related with curbing of child labour.

With ratification of these two core ILO conventions, India has ratified 6 out of 8 core ILO conventions, with the other 4 core ILO conventions relating to abolition of forced labour, equal remuneration and no discrimination between men and women in employment and occupation.

Ramifications of the India’s ratification of ILO conventions

• Almost all children (99%) in the world are covered by Convention 182
• Coverage of Convention 138 enhanced from approximately 60 percent to almost 80% of the world’s children population

Meeting the objectives of child labour free society

• Enactment of the Child labour (Prohibition and Prevention) amendment Act, 2016 in August 2016 that provides for complete prohibition on employment of children below 14 years in all occupations and processes and prohibits employment of adolescents (14-18 years) in hazardous occupations and processes.
• The age of admission to employment has been linked to the age of compulsory education under Right to Education Act (RTE), 2009
• To remove all ambiguities a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) is being framed for all stakeholders particularly, enforcing agencies and this would be supported by IT Platform “PENCIL” which has components ensuring enforcement of the Act, mechanism for redressal of complaints, child tracking system and a monitoring mechanism.
• National Child Labour Project (NCLP) which is a rehabilitative scheme for child and adolescent labour has been aligned with changes in the Act.

GS-3

ATGM Nag

What: The Anti-Tank Guided Missile Nag was successfully flight tested in desert ranges of Rajasthan.

• The Fire and Forget 3rd generation ATGM Nag is incorporated with many advanced technologies
• It includes Imaging Infrared Radar (IIR) Seeker with integrated avionics
• Developed by DRDO to support both mechanised infantry and airborne forces of the Indian Army.
• The missile incorporates an advanced passive homing guidance system and possesses high single-shot kill probability. It is designed to destroy modern main battle tanks and other heavily armoured targets.
• Nag can be launched from land and air-based platforms. The land version is currently available for integration on the Nag missile carrier (NAMICA).
• The helicopter-launched configuration, designated as helicopter-launched NAG (HELINA), can be fired from Dhruv advanced light helicopter (ALH) and HAL Rudra (ALH WSI) attack helicopter.

Integrated guided missile development programme (IGMDP)

• Nag missile is part of Minsitry of Defence’s IGMDP
• Four other missiles are also being developed under it- Agni, Akash, Trishul and Prithvi

Some DRDO key achievements in 2014-17 are

• Tejas fighters
• Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AEW&C) System
• Akash Weapon System
• SONAR systems
• Varunastra Torpedo
• Bharani Weapon Locating Radar (WLR)
• Nuclear Biological Chemical (NBC) Recce Vehicle
• AGNI-V, Long Range Surface to Air Missile (LRSAM)
• Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM)
• NAG
• Advanced Towed Array Gun (ATAG)
• Wheeled Armoured platform (WhAP)
• RUSTOM-II MALE Unmanned Aerial Vehicle and more…

PUR Track

(Topic: Inclusive growth and issues arising from it.)

What: they are an all-weather running track of polyurethane.

Polyurethane (PUR and PU) is a polymer composed of organic units joined by carbamate (urethane) links. While most polyurethanes are thermosetting polymers that do not melt when heated, thermoplastic polyurethanes are also available.

Areas of usage- Polyurethanes are used in the manufacture of high-resilience foam seating, rigid foam insulation panels, microcellular foam seals and gaskets, durable elastomeric wheels and tires (such as roller coaster, escalator, shopping cart, elevator, and skateboard wheels), automotive suspension bushings, electrical potting compounds, high performance adhesives, surface coatings and surface sealants, synthetic fibers (e.g., Spandex), carpet underlay, hard-plastic parts (e.g., for electronic instruments), condoms and hoses.

In news: PM inaugurated USHA School of Athletics which has PUR track.

Sports is closely linked with the human resource development of a society.

Some ancient sports of India

• Kuttiyumkolum- Kerala (Similar as Gilly Danda of north)
• Kalaripayattu- Kerala
• Sagol Kangjei ( Polo )- Manipur
• Asol Aap ( Canoe Race )- nicobar
• Asol – Tale Aap ( Canoe Race on sand )- Nicobar
• Dhopkhel- Assam
• Gella – Chutt- Tripura

You can visit for information http://sports.indiapress.org/

There is a need to ensure that traditional games do not lose their popularity. Indigenous games too must be promoted as they have evolved organically from our own way of life. A programme ‘Khelo India’ has been launched where competitions will be held in various disciplines from the School and college level to the National level.  Focus will be on identifying talent and then nurture it by providing support.