IASbaba PIB Weekly: Press Information Bureau – 22nd July to 30th July , 2017

ARCHIVES

GS-1

Project Mausam

(Topic: Indian Culture will cover the salient aspects of Art forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times)

Initiative of: Ministry of Culture

Aims:

• Explore the multi-faceted Indian Ocean ‘world’–collating archaeological and historical research in order to document the diversity of cultural, commercial and religious interactions in the Indian Ocean
• Promote research on themes related to the study of Maritime Routes
• Inscribe places and sites identified under Project Mausam as trans-national nomination for inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

GS-2

Sexual Harassment electronic-Box (SHe-Box)

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

• An online complaint management system titled Sexual Harassment electronic–Box (SHe-Box) for registering complaints related to sexual harassment at workplace
• The complaint management system has been developed to ensure the effective implementation of Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act (the SH Act), 2013.
• An effort to utilize the digital space to enable speedier response to the complaints of women against sexual harassment at workplace.

“Export Oriented Production, Export Development & Promotion of Spices” Scheme

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

To boost production: Assistance is provided to cultivators of cardamom for

• Production of quality planting materials
• Replanting of old and uneconomic gardens
• New planting
• Irrigation development programmes
• Improved curing facilities farm mechanization
• Development of infrastructure for common processing facilities in Spice Parks
• Adaptation of upgraded technology in spice processing
• Setting up of quality evaluation labs for sampling and testing of the export consignments for meeting quality specifications of consuming countries
• Assistance to farmers on post-harvest quality improvement
• Imparting training to farmers in Good Agricultural Practices

End-to-end Computerization of Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) Operations

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

Objective: For effective implementation of and bringing transparency in Public Distribution System (PDS)

Components:

• Digitization of ration cards/beneficiary and other databases
• Online allocation
• Computerization of supply-chain management
• Setting up of transparency portal
• Grievance redressal mechanisms

Swadhar Greh Scheme

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

• Targets the women victims of difficult circumstances who are in need of institutional support for rehabilitation so that they could lead their life with dignity
• The Scheme envisages providing shelter, food, clothing and health as well as economic and social security for the women victims of difficult circumstances
• The scheme focuses on establishing one Swadhar Greh in each district

GS-3

Naval Offshore Patrol Vessels (NOPVs)

(Topic: Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate)

Launch of: Shachi and Shruti; part of a five ship project being constructed for the Indian Navy

Objectives – To undertake

• Surveillance of the country’s vast Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)
• Anti-piracy patrols
• Fleet support operations
• Maritime security of offshore assets
• Coastal security operations
• Protection of shipping lanes

NOPVs

• The NOPVs being constructed are patrol ships and are armed with 76mm Super Rapid Gun Mount (SRGM) system along with two 30mm AK-630M guns which provide medium range and short range offensive and defensive capabilities.
• The armament is remotely controlled through an electronic Fire Control System.
• The ships are fitted with diesel engine driven propulsion systems and can deliver speed up to 25 knots.
• All ship operations are controlled by an intelligent Integrated Platform Management System which has interfaces for all operational activities onboard the ship.

“Sagar Vani” – An Integrated Information Dissemination System

(Topic: Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life)

What: A software platform where various dissemination modes will be integrated on a single central server

Importance: To serve the coastal community, especially the fishermen community with the advisories and alerts towards their livelihood as well as their safety at Sea

Includes: Multi Lingual SMS, Voice Call / Audio Advisory, Mobile Apps (User / Admin modules), Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.), Email, GTS, Fax, Digital Display Boards, Radio / Television broadcast units, IVRS, Cloud Channels, etc.

• Has facility to provide access to various stakeholders (NGOs, State Fishery Departments, Disaster Management Authorities, etc.) to help them be able to further disseminate these ocean information and alerts to the user community
• Services will be disseminated in local languages using advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities
• Usage of the power of television and cable network mediums for topical and alert dissemination services (first time in India)

Concept of Fast Breeder Reactors (FBR) with closed fuel cycle

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

• Electricity generated by FBR would be a source of green energy as the waste from the first stage nuclear programme is reprocessed and used as fuel in FBR
• The spent fuel from this reactor can be fed back into the reactor core several times, till the spent fuel contains only short lived fission products.
• Hence, there is no need of large quantity of fuel materials for the annual external feed and thus, eliminates the need for large capacity waste storage spaces with complex construction features.
• Indigenously produced Mixed Uranium & Plutonium Oxide will be used as the fuel in the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor

Please Note:

1. UJJAWALA: A Comprehensive Scheme for Prevention of trafficking and Rescue, Rehabilitation and Re-integration of Victims of Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation
2. “Hamari Dharohar” scheme: For preservation of rich heritage and culture of minority communities of India. The scheme aims to support curation of iconic exhibitions, calligraphy, research and development, etc.
3. ‘Nai Roshni’- the scheme for Leadership Development of Minority Women
4. Public health is a State subject
5. Jute-ICARE – An Initiative of the Government to double the income of Jute farmers and to popularize/introduce some of the better agronomic practices
6. In a major recognition of India’s efforts to benchmark global spices trade, the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) has adopted three Codex standards for black, white and green pepper, cumin and thyme, paving the way for universal agreement on identifying quality spices in various countries.
7. ‘Women Scientist Scheme’: Provides career opportunities which includes fellowship to unemployed women scientists and technologists, especially those who had a break in career, for pursuing research in frontier areas of Science and Engineering.
8. The scheme “Seekho aur Kamao (Learn and Earn)” is a placement linked skill development scheme
9. In India we ratify an ILO Convention only when the national laws are brought fully into conformity with the provisions of the Convention in question.
10. Measures to overcome the overall trade deficit – implementation of
    1. Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS)
    2. Services Exports from India Scheme (SEIS)
    3. NiryatBandhu Scheme
    4. Single Window Interface for Facilitating Trade (SWIFT) clearance project as part of ‘Ease of doing Business’
    5. Interest Equalization Scheme in pre and post shipment credit
    6. Special Advance Authorization Scheme
    7. Trade Infrastructure for Export Promotion (TIES) Scheme
11. August— Month of Revolution
    1. Non-Cooperation Movement was launched on the 1st of August 1920
    2. Quit India Movement began on the 9th of August 1942 (75th Anniversary)
       • Also known as ‘Agast Kranti’
       • The slogan, ‘Quit India’ was coined by Dr. Yusuf Meher Ali
       • Mahatma Gandhi’s clarion call and the mantra of ‘Do or Die’