IASbaba PIB Weekly: Press Information Bureau – 27th Aug to 2nd Sep, 2017

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GS-1

Festival of Samvatsari (Forgiveness Day)

(Topic: Indian culture (festivals))

• Also known as – Kshamavani Parva; on this day, people traditionally greet each other with, ‘michhamidukkadam.’
• The last day of Paryushana festival observed by the followers of Jain religion; Jains ask for the forgiveness for their mistakes committed knowingly or unknowingly from the fellow beings.

GS-2

Ensuring greater social justice and inclusion for members of the Other Backward Classes

(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)

1. Children of those serving in lower categories in PSUs and other institutions can get the benefit of OBC reservations, on par with children of people serving in lower categories in Government – Will prevent children of those in senior positions in such institutions, who, owing to absence of equivalence of posts, may have been treated as non-Creamy Layer by virtue of wrong interpretation of income standards from cornering government posts reserved for OBCs and denying the genuine non creamy layer candidates a level playing field
2. Approved the increase in the present income criterion of Rs. 6 lakh per annum for applying the Creamy Layer restriction throughout the country, for excluding Socially Advanced Persons/Sections (Creamy Layer) from the purview of reservation of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) – The new income criterion will be 8 lakh per annum; increase in the income limit to exclude the Creamy Layer is in keeping with the increase in the Consumer Price Index and will enable more persons to take advantage of reservation benefits extended to OBCs in government services and admission to central educational institutions
3. Government has introduced a bill to provide Constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes
4. has also decided to set up a Commission, under section 340 of the Constitution, to sub categorize the OBCs, so that the more backward among the OBC communities can also access the benefits of reservation for educational institutions and government jobs.

Background:

IndraSawhney case, 1992 –  Supreme Court had directed the Government to specify the basis, for exclusion of socially and economically advanced persons from Other Backward Classes by applying the relevant and requisite socio-economic criteria

Must Read: Link

Solve:  Question

National Nutrition Week, 2017

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

From: 1st to 7th September

Theme: “Optimal Infant & Young Child Feeding Practices: Better Child Health”

Objective: To intensify awareness generation on the importance of nutrition for health which has an impact on development, productivity, economic growth and ultimately National Development

Under-nutrition in young children continues to be a major public health problem in India –

• The NFHS4 has not shown an encouraging improvement in the nutritional status, especially among women and children
• As per NFHS-4 the level of underweight has decreased by 6.8% and is stunting by 9.6%
• Level of anaemia has decreased by 11% as compared to NNHS-3 figures.

Must Read: Link 1 + Link 2 + Link 3 + Link 4 + Link 5 + Link 6

Solve: Question 1

Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana

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

PMMVY: Maternity Benefit Programme that is implemented in all the districts of the country in accordance with the provision of the National Food Security Act, 2013

Implemented by: Ministry of Women & Child Development in collaboration with State Governments

Objectives:

• First, women will receive support by covering any lost amounts of money that they could have gotten at their jobs. This ensures that women can get the rest they need after giving birth or nursing. Proper wages are to be provided based on the work status that a woman had before giving birth.
• The health of pregnant women will be improved upon through cash incentives. These are to help women with getting the physical support they need for managing their bodies and getting the help they demand.

Key Benefits

• The first payment of Rs. 1,000 is made at the registration process. This can typically be done as the woman is pregnant and will help to prepare her for support with managing a healthy birthing process.
• The second payment is for Rs. 2,000 if at least one antenatal checkup is utilized after six months of pregnancy. This is to ensure that a woman is able to get the help that she demands in any way.
• A third payment of Rs. 3,000 will also be provided when the birth is registered and if the child in question receives his or her first cycle of vaccines. This should include vaccinations for hepatitis B, DPT, OPV and BCG among other points.

Must Read: Link 1 + Link 2 + Link 3 + Link 4

Memorandum of Understanding of Election Commission of India with the Election Management Bodies of other countries/International Agencies

(Topic: Responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies)

MoU: On cooperation in the field of electoral management and administration

• Promotion of cooperation in exchange of knowledge and experience in the field of organizational and technical development of electoral process
• Support in exchanging information, institutional strengthening and capacity building
• Training of personnel, holding regular consultations etc.

Remember: Election Commission of India is a constitutional body.

Agencies are as follows –

• The National Electoral Council of Ecuador;
• The Central Election Commission of Albania;
• The Election Commission of Bhutan;
• The Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan;
• The National Independent Electoral Commission of Guinea;
• The Union Election Commission of Myanmar; and
• The India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA)

Ease of Doing Business report

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

Report by: Niti Aayog – to assess the business regulations and enabling environment across India from firms’ perspective

The Ease of Doing Business report based on an Enterprise Survey of 3,500 manufacturing firms Survey comes in the backdrop of the fact that India needs to create an environment that fosters globally competitive firms, capable of driving and sustaining economic growth.

Major findings

Economic Performance and Reforms – A higher level of economic activity and better performance on a range of doing business indicators are strongly correlated. Enterprises in high-growth states are significantly less likely to report major or very severe obstacles in

1. Land/ construction re­lated approvals
2. Environmental approvals
3. Water and sanitation availability relative to enterprises in low-growth states.

Quite remarkably, firms located in high-growth states also report 25% less power shortages in a typical month, compared to firms in low-growth states.

Improvements over time – Newer and younger firms report a more favorable business environment in that they take less time in obtaining approvals than older firms, suggesting an improvement in the business environment. In addition, young firms report that most regulatory processes do not constitute a major obstacle to their doing business.

Informational gaps – States need to enhance awareness of the steps being undertaken by them to the improve ease of doing business. The survey data show low awareness among enterprises about single window systems, instituted by states.

• On average, only about 20% of start-ups, which are of recent origin, report using single window facilities introduced by state governments for setting up a business.
• Even among experts, only 41% have any knowledge of the existence of these facilities.

Labor regulations are a bigger constraint for labor intensive firms. We find that labor intensive sectors, that create proportionately more jobs per unit of capital investment, feel more constrained by labor related regulations. For example, compared to other enterprises, the enterprises in labor intensive sectors:

• 19% more likely to report that finding skilled workers is a major or very severe obstacle.
• 33% more likely to report that hiring contract labor is a major or very severe obstacle.
• Lose a greater number of days due to strikes and lockouts.
• Report higher average time for environmental approvals and longer power shortages.

Barriers to firm growth – The experience of firms with fewer employees is different from that of larger firms. In some cases, large firms face more regulatory barriers than smaller firms.

• Firms with more than 100 employees took significantly longer to get necessary approvals than smaller firms with less than 10 employees.
• Large firms were also more likely to report that regulatory obstacles were a major impediment to doing business and that they incurred higher costs for getting approvals.

YUVA – a skill development programme

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

About: An initiative by Delhi Police under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana

Aim – To connect with youth by upgrading their skill as per their competencies; will help them to get a gainful employment under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojna under the Ministry of Skill Development.

Beneficiaries: Youth in the age of 17-25 years belonging to categories such as School dropouts, Juvenile offenders, Victims of crimes and families in dire state due to incarceration of the bread earner of the family, mostly from the underprivileged colonies.

• Delhi Police has tied up with National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for providing mass job linked skill training for the selected youth.
• National Skill Development Corporation shall be providing skill training to the youth under ‘Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojna’ (PMKVY) and CII will provide job linked training through its Sector Skill Councils who are connected to industry and thereby provide job guarantee.

Atal Pension Yojana (APY)

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

Update:

• The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) through its ‘One Nation One Pension’ Mobilization Campaign has sourced approximately 3.07 lakh APY accounts which led to a total of 62 lakh enrolments under the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) as on date.
• 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 – To bring in transparency, efficiency and to enable beneficiaries to get their entitlement directly in a convenient and seamless manner.

When: APY was introduced in 2015

For: The unorganised sector workers who do not have sufficient and reliable old age security

Earlier called: Swavalamban Yojana NPS (National Pension Scheme) Lite

Objective: To encourage unorganised workers to make regular small savings during their working years towards pension benefits later

Details: Under the APY, the subscribers would receive a minimum guaranteed pension of Rs. 1000 to Rs. 5000 per month from the age of 60 years, depending on their contributions, which depends on the age of the subscriber at the time of joining the APY.

Must Read: Link

Ensuring women participation in the mainstream agriculture

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

Key Stats:

• 80% financially independent women are engaged in farm-related activities in India. Out of them, 33% are working as agricultural labourers and 48% are self-employed farmers.
• According to as per NSSO report, women lead almost 18% agricultural households and there is not a single area of agriculture in which they are not involved.

Women play multi-dimensional roles in agriculture – from sowing, harvesting, applying fertilisers, irrigation, plant protection to weeding, storing etc – they do it all while shouldering household chores like cooking, storing water, collecting fuel wood, maintaining the house, etc.

Women are active in other agriculture related activities like cattle management, fodder collection and allied activities related to dairy and agriculture such as beekeeping, mushroom farming, pig farming, goat rearing, poultry etc.

Female labourers are facing several inequalities –

• Work much longer hours than men and are paid lesser than their counterpart
• Ignorant about their rights, opportunities and facilities make their participation in agricultural all the more tougher

Measures that have been taken to bring women in the mainstream agricultural sector:

• Earmarking at least 30% of the budget allocation for women beneficiaries in all ongoing schemes/programmes and development activities.
• Initiating women centric activities to ensure benefits of various beneficiary-oriented programs/schemes reach them.
• Focusing on women self-help group (SHG) to connect them to micro-credit through capacity building activities and to provide information and ensuring their representation in different decision-making bodies
• Celebrate 15th October of every year as Women Farmer’s Day

STPs to be constructed under Hybrid Annuity Model at Varanasi and Haridwar

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

In the first-of-its-kind success, the creation and maintenance of sewage treatment infrastructure under Hybrid Annuity based PPP model has taken off, with NMCG awarding work to private sector for construction and maintenance of Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) in two major cities in Ganga river basin – Varanasi and Haridwar.

Hybrid Annuity-PPP model

• Cabinet accorded approval to Hybrid Annuity-PPP model in January 2016 with 100% central sector funding
• Under this model, the development, operation and maintenance of the sewage treatment STPs will be undertaken by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to be created by the winning bidder at the local level. As per this model, 40% of the Capital cost quoted would be paid on completion of construction while the remaining 60% of the cost will be paid over the life of the project as annuities along with operation and maintenance cost (O&M) expenses.
• Both the Annuity and O&M payments are linked to the performance of the STP – will ensure continued performance of the assets created due to better accountability, ownership and optimal performance.
• Hybrid Annuity based PPP model has been adopted for the first time in the country in sewage management sector. Such a model has earlier been adopted successfully in highway sector only.

MoU between India and Brazil for cooperation in the fields of Zebu Cattle Genomics and Assisted Reproductive Technologies

(Topic: India and its neighborhood- relations)

Will strengthen the existing friendly relations between India and Brazil and promote development of Genomics and Assistant Reproductive Technologies (ARTs) in Cattle through joint activities to be implemented through mutually agreed procedures

MoU would promote and facilitate scientific cooperation and setting up of genomic selection programme in Zebu Cattle through

• Application of genomic in Zebu Cattle and their crosses and buffaloes
• Application of assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) in cattle and buffaloes
• Capacity building in genomic and assisted reproductive technology
• Related research and development in Genomics and ART in accordance with the respective laws and regulations of the two countries and is covered under Rule 7 (d) (i) of the Second Schedule of the Government of India (Transaction of Business) Rules, 1961

Ministry of Railways Signs 2 Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) with Swiss Confederation (Switzerland)

(Topic: India and its neighborhood- relations)

1^st: Between Ministry of Railways and Federal Department of the Environment, Transport and Communications of the Swiss Confederation for technical cooperation in Rail Sector, aiming at the cooperation in the areas of:

• Traction Rolling stock
• EMU and Train sets
• Traction Propulsion Equipments
• Freight and Passenger Cars
• Tilting Trains
• Railway Electrification Equipments
• Train scheduling and operation improvement
• Railway Station modernization
• Multimodal transport
• Tunneling technology

2^nd: Between Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL) and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich – Will help Konkan Railway in establishing the George Fernandes Institute of Tunnel Technology (GFITT) at Goa especially for assimilation and dissemination of knowledge in the field of tunneling

• Train KRCL’s own manpower for its Tunneling Projects
• Generate qualified and trained personnel for the benefit of other Government organisations, private sector and even foreign organisations to bridge the huge gap in levels of knowledge and qualified manpower required to meet the key segment of infrastructure development in India

Fourth Session of the India-Tanzania Joint Trade Committee (JTC)

(Topic: India and its neighborhood- relations)

India and Tanzania enjoy close and cordial relations and underscored the unwavering bonds of friendship and solidarity, underpinned by a shared history of struggle against colonialism and the growing strategic partnership, multifaceted co-operation and vibrant people to people contact existing between the two countries.

• With an investment of US $ 2.2 billion, Tanzania is among the top 5 investment destinations for India.
• The potential areas for Tanzania in India – Light oils and petroleum or bituminous minerals, motor cars and vehicles, medicaments etc.
• Requirement for India – Metals and Minerals, dried cashew nuts in shell
• Tanzanian side encouraged co-operation in the field of Fisheries, Industrial Development including Industrial Research and Development and SMEs Development, Information, Communication and Technology, Labour and Employment, Information, Culture, Arts and Sports.
• The Indian Duty Free Tariff Preference Scheme of which Tanzania is a beneficiary has boosted considerably Tanzanian export to India in recent years.
• Long-term (at least one year visas) for reputed business companies with multi-entry facility will be helpful to promote investments and business collaboration between the two countries.

Joint Proposal by India & China in WTO on Aggregate Measurement of Support (AMS)

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

• India and China jointly submitted a proposal to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) calling for the elimination – by developed countries – of the most trade-distorting form of farm subsidies, known in WTO parlance as Aggregate Measurement of Support (AMS) or ‘Amber Box’ support as a prerequisite for consideration of other reforms in domestic support negotiations. Elimination of AMS, India and China believe, should be the starting point of reforms rather than seeking reduction of subsidies by developing countries, some of which like India provide a subsistence amount of about US $ 260 per farmer per annum compared to over 100 times more in some developed countries.
• This is important in view of the ongoing negotiations for the upcoming 11th Ministerial Conference of the WTO to be held in Buenos Aires in December 2017 – counters the efforts by some countries to target the subsidies of the developing countries while letting the developed countries retain their huge farm subsidies.
• The joint paper reveals that developed countries, including the US, the EU and Canada, have been consistently providing trade-distorting subsidies to their farmers at levels much higher than the ceiling applicable to developing countries. Developed countries have more than 90% of global AMS entitlements amounting to nearly US$ 160 bn. Most of the developing countries, including India and China, do not have AMS entitlements.

GS-3

‘FarmerZone’ in India

(Topic: e-technology in the aid of farmers)

What:

• A multi-purpose window for solutions, available for farmers anywhere in the world, from dealing with climate change, weather predictions and soil, water, and seed requirements to providing market intelligence
• A collective open-source data platform for smart agriculture which will use biological research and data to improve the lives of small and marginal farmers
• Will work on getting relevant quality data related to agriculture into the cloud, develop sentinel sites to help link with farmers and evolve PPP based enterprises for data delivery

Features:

• Solutions will provided at the farm (similar to that done by e-commerce companies at the doorstep)
• Farmers can access the service directly or through an intermediate structure such as local co-operatives
• Will include a MarketZone where farmers can directly sell their produce which can be picked up by directly from the farm

APEDA’s new progressive step: Hortinet

(Topic: e-technology in the aid of farmers)

What: An integrated traceability system developed by APEDA for providing Internet based electronic services to the stakeholders for facilitating farm registration, testing and certification of Grape, Pomegranate and Vegetables for export from India to the European Union in compliance with standards

Key features of the app are:

• Online Farm registration application and status tracking
• Processing and approval on on-line farmer applications by State Horticulture /Agriculture department
• Registration of farmers, farms and products by State Horticulture/Agriculture department
• Capture geo location of the farms registered through the app
• Sample collection by APEDA authorized Laboratories along with geo location of the sample.

MNRE & GIZ Signs Agreement to Improve Framework Conditions for Grid Integration of Renewable Energies

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

• The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH India on behalf of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany signed an agreement on technical cooperation under the “Indo-German Energy Programme – Green Energy Corridors (IGEN-GEC)”
• Supports the implementation of the Renewable Energy Management Centre (REMCs), Green Energy Corridors scheme of the Government of India which is a prerequisite for large scale grid integration of renewable energy thus contributing to achieve the 175 GW target of the Government of India for renewable energy generation capacity by 2022.
• Germany will provide concessional loans of up to 1 billion Euros through KfW (German Development Bank) and up to 10 million Euros under technical assistance in forecasting, balancing, market design, network management and demand side energy efficiency, implemented by GIZ. These contributions have been further increased in 2015 and 2016 by concessional loans up to 400 million Euros for transmission infrastructure and up to 7 million Euros for training activities in the photovoltaic solar rooftop sector and energy efficiency in residential buildings under technical assistance through GIZ.

Will work on –

• Improving market mechanisms and regulations for integration of Renewable Energies
• Advancing technical and institutional conditions in specified target states, regions and on a national level
• Adding human capacities to handle systemic (strategic, managerial, financial, technical) Renewable Energies integration in an efficient and effective manner

Benefits of the Agreement:

• Improve market mechanisms and regulations
• Help us train manpower
• Ensure grid stability & integration of renewables into grid
• Ensure safer & secure grid and a grid which can take cyber challenges

Renewable Energy Management Centre (REMCs)

Aim: To tap the full potential of solar and wind energy

• Monitor renewable generation on a real-time basis and also make forecasts for hassle-free integration of solar and wind energies with the grid
• Facilitate proper scheduling and dispatch of the renewable forms of energy

Green Energy Corridors scheme: Aimed at synchronising electricity produced from renewable sources, such as solar and wind, with conventional power stations in the grid

Left Wing Extremism (LWE) scenario in India

(Topic: Linkages between development and spread of extremism)

Exhibits significant improvement over the years and the declining trend continued in the last three years – As compared to data of 2010, 2016 reflected a decline of 53% in number of violent incidents and 72% in resultant deaths and the trend continued in 2017

SAMADHAN has been introduced to control the situation in the LWE affected states

S- Smart Policing and Leadership

A – Aggressive Strategy

M- Motivation and Training

A- Actionable Intelligence

D- Dashboard for Development and Key Performance Indicators

H- Harnessing Technology for Development and Security

A- Action Plan for each Theatre

N- No access to Financing

LWE problem is not a ‘law and order’ problem alone but is also a socio-economic problem –

• Need to adopt a sustained policy and intelligence sharing in the LWE affected States
• Police should be further strengthened with the use of better communication and connectivity facilities

Measures taken by the government –

• Deployment of CAPF battalions in the LWE affected States
• Use of 56 Specialized India Reserve Battalions / India Reserve Battalions mainly to strengthen the security apparatus
• Construction of about 400 Fortified Police Stations and various training related initiatives
• 743 Scheduled Tribes candidates from 4 most affected LWE districts of Chhattisgarh-Bijapur, Dantewada, Narayanpur and Sukma have been recruited in Bastariya Battallion in order to enhance local representation in Security Forces
• Opening of Kendriya Vidyalayas and Skill Development Centres in LWE affected districts
• 1,789 new branch post offices, 405 bank branches and 818 ATMs have  also been opened in 35 most LWE affected districts during the last two years
• Road Connectivity Project for LWE affected areas (RRP-II), has been approved which envisages construction of 5,412 km roads and 126 bridges in 44 districts of LWE affected States
• Installation of 2,199 mobile towers and additional 2726 mobile towers n Phase –II of the scheme in LWE affected states

Mindmap

Must Read: Link 1

Solve: Question 1

Ministry of Defence approves first phase of reforms in The Armed Forces

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

In a first ever exercise after Independence, the Ministry of Defence in consultation with the Indian Army has decided to reform the Indian Army in a planned manner

• Optimization of Signals Establishments to include Radio Monitoring Companies, Corps Air Support Signal Regiments, Air Formation Signal Regiments, Composite Signal Regiments and merger of Corps Operating and Engineering Signal Regiments
• Restructuring of repair echelons in the Army to include Base Workshops, Advance Base Workshops and Static/Station Workshops in the field Army
• Redeployment of Ordnance echelons to include Vehicle Depots, Ordnance Depots and Central Ordnance Depots apart from streamlining inventory control mechanisms.
• Better utilization of Supply and Transport echelons and Animal Transport units.
• Closure of Military Farms and Army postal establishments in peace locations
• Enhancement in standards for recruitment of clerical staff and drivers in the Army
• Improving the efficiency of the National Cadet Corps

Please Note:

1. Kalam outlined an integrated action plan in five core competence areas:
2. Agriculture and food processing
3. Education and Healthcare
4. Information and Communication Technology
5. Infrastructure development, including reliable quality power, surface transport and infrastructure for rural and urban areas under PURA-PROVIDING URBAN AMENITIES IN RURAL AREAS
6. Self-reliance in critical technologies

1. Central Public Works Department (CPWD) has become the first organization of a civil ministry to become digital at the field level – by networking all the 400 field offices of CPWD across the country through a special integrated portal ensuring digital payments

• Public Financial Management (PFMS) Portal for CPWD – An end-to-end solution for electronic processing payments, tracking fund flow, monitoring, accounting, reconciliation and reporting, etc. – adopted by the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs
• electronic Measurement Book (e-MB) has also been developed for CPWD that enables reporting of progress of works online as per the schedule of agreement with contractors based on which payments will be made

1. India’s first zinc fortified variety WB2 was developed in the year 2016

1. 1 billion-1 billion-1 billion vision – that is 1 billion unique Aadhaar numbers linked to 1 billion bank accounts and 1 billion mobile phones.

1. Chief Justice of India – Justice Dipak Misra

1. First Synergy Conference on Defence Pension organised by Defence Accounts Department – To obtain feedback from the pensioners that would help the department to serve them better with constantly improving systems and procedures + Digitization of pension data + Implementation of a pensionsapp

1. Hastkala Sahyog Shivir – An initiative by government to organize Pan India camps in handlooms and handicrafts clusters; dedicated to Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Garib Kalyan Varsh, the birth centenary year of Pandit Deendayal Upadhayay.

1. National Sports Talent Search Portal – Help spot the best talent from among the young population of the country, provide a level playing field to all the applicants and create a competitive environment (fast, transparent and provide a mechanism for fair selection)

1. Hybrid clone variety 205 (Saccharum officinarum and Saccharum spontaneum) was developed for sub-tropical climate, which was launched in 1918 for commercial farming. The hybrid clone led to 50% increase in sugarcane production in North India.

1. The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of Commerce and Industry has initiated the process of formulation of a new Industrial Policy which will subsume the National Manufacturing Policy

1. A 101-member Indian Police contingent has returned with a record breaking haul of 321 medals from the World Police & Fire Games held in USA – 151 Gold, 99 Silver and 71 Bronze medals in the seven events

1. PRAGATI – the ICT-based, multi-modal platform for Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation

1. Bagan, Myanmar – MoU between India and Myanmar for the conservation of earthquake-damaged pagodas

1. C-DOT, Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) – Telecom R&D center of the Government of India has designed ‘WiDHWAN’ – To cater to the recurring call drop issues in no-signal and low-signal network scenarios in places such as offices and homes

1. Paris Agreement – Under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change; came into force in November 2016 and till date, 160 Parties have ratified the agreement – India is a party to the Paris Agreement

Must Read: Link 1 + Link 2 + Link 3 + Link 4

Solve: Question

1. Pre-2020 actions – By developed countries under Kyoto Protocol