IASbaba Press Information Bureau 28th May to 2nd June, 2018

ARCHIVES

GS-2

POCSO Act – Male child victims of sexual abuse

(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)

POCSO Act is gender neutral and safeguards the interest of not only the girl child but also the male child

Minister for Women and Child Development, Smt. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi, has urged the States/UTs

• To issue necessary directions to the concerned departments to take necessary steps for including male child victims of sexual abuse in the Victim Compensation Scheme/Fund
• Compensation including interim compensation may be given to the victim on time

Must Read: Link 1 + Link 2 + Link 3

SevaBhojYojna Scheme

(Topic: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population)

For: Reimbursing the Central Government share of Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) and Integrated Goods and Service Tax (IGST) on purchase of raw items such as ghee, edible oil, atta/maida/rava/flour , rice pulses, sugar, burra/jiggery etc which go into preparation of food/Prasad/langar/bhandara offered free of cost by religious institutions

Objective: To lessen the financial burden of such Charitable Religious Institutions who provide Food/Prasad/Langar (Community Kitchen)/Bhandara free of cost without any discrimination to Public/Devotees.

Charitable Religious Institutions who shall be eligible

• Such as Temples, Gurudwara, Mosque, Church, Dharmik Ashram, Dargah, Matth, Monasteries etc.
• Have been in existence for at least five years before applying for financial assistance/grant
• Which serves free food to at least 5000 people in a month
• Institutions covered under Section 10 (23BBA)  of the Income Tax Act or Institutions registered as Society under Societies Registration Act (XXI of 1860) or as a Public Trust under any law for the time being in force of statuary religious bodies constituted under any Act or institutions registered under Section 12AA of Income Tax Act  

India signs Loan Agreement with the World Bank for USD 21.7 Million

(Topic: Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate; Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation)

For: Strengthening the Public Financial Management in Rajasthan Project

Objective: To contribute to improved Budget execution, enhanced accountability and greater efficiency in Revenue Administration in Rajasthan

The project involves

• Strengthening of the Public Financial Management Framework
• Strengthening of Expenditure and Revenue Systems
• Project Management and Capacity Building

Government of India and World Bank signs $500 Million Additional Financing

(Topic: Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate; Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation)

For: Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana Rural Roads Project (WB has supported PMGSY since its inception in 2004)

Implemented by: Ministry of Rural Development – will build 7,000 km of climate resilient roads, out of which 3,500 km will be constructed using green technologies

The PMGSY and the Bank’s involvement under this additional financing will emphasize on managing the rural road network through green and climate-resilient construction using green, low-carbon designs and new technologies – far beyond merely funding civil works. This will be done through the following measures:

• Climate vulnerability assessment during the design process to identify the critical locations affected by floods, water-logging, submergence, cloud bursts, storms, landslides, poor drainage, excessive erosion, high rainfall, and high temperatures.
• Special treatment for flood-affected areas through adequate waterways and submersible roads to allow easy passage of water, use of concrete block pavements, and improved drainage;
• Use of environmentally optimized road designs and new technologies which uses local and marginal materials and industrial by-products such as sand, local soils, fly ash, brick kiln wastes, and other similar materials in place of crushed rocks;
• Innovative bridges and culverts through use of pre-fabricated/pre-cast units for roads and bridges having better ability to withstand earthquakes and water forces such as continuous beams, bearing free construction, and river training works;
• Use of hill cutting material in hill roads ensuring its productive use and resolving its disposal problem, use of bio-engineering measures, improved drainage and other treatments for landslide prone areas and providing adequate slope protection.

The Additional Financing will also fill the gender gap by creating employment opportunities for women in construction and maintenance. The earlier project had piloted community-based maintenance contracts through women self-help groups (SHGs) for routine maintenance of 200 km of PMGSY roads in Uttarakhand, Meghalaya and Himachal Pradesh.

India Signs Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) in Nursing with Singapore

(Topic: Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate; Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation)

This is the first MRA being signed by India with any of our FTA partners.

In a major gain for India, Singapore agreed to expand coverage of Indian nursing institutions by recognising seven nursing institutions in the MRA.  

• This has paved way for our healthcare service providers to institutionally access markets abroad.  
• It will further open up doors for India to enter into similar mutual recognition arrangements with other countries.

Please Note:

Exercise SURYA KIRAN: Between India and Nepal – The aim of exercise is joint training of troops in counter insurgency/ counter terrorism operations in both jungle & mountainous terrain and disaster management

Island nation of Tuvalu: Formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, about midway between Hawaii and Australia

Note: Locate it on the World Map

Leading country in coconut production and productivity: India

2019 Pravasi Bhartiya Divas: Varanasi, India

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban): Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs has approved the construction of another 1.5 lakh affordable houses for the benefit of urban poor

India’s First Advanced Forensic Lab dedicated to women related cases: Chandigarh – will contribute to address the gap in forensic DNA analysis of pending sexual assault cases in the country

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has taken a decision to vaccinate all healthcare workers who are at an increased risk of acquiring Hepatitis-B infection such as those involved in conducting deliveries, giving injections and exposed to blood or blood products.

Hepatitis-B Infection –

• Hepatitis B is a viral infection that attacks the liver and can cause both acute and chronic disease.
• The virus is highly contagious and is transmitted through contact with the blood or other body fluids of an infected person.
• It is transmitted when blood, semen or another body fluid from a person infected with the Hepatitis B virus, enters the body of someone who is not infected. This can happen through sexual contact; sharing needles/syringes, needle injuries; or other invasive equipment; or from mother to baby at birth.
• There is no specific treatment for acute Hepatitis B disease. Clinical management is based on supportive therapy and relief of symptoms.

It is estimated that about 780,000 people die each year due to consequences of Hepatitis B, such as liver cirrhosis and liver cancer.

PRAAPTI (Payment Ratification and Analysis in Power procurement for bringing Transparency in Invoicing of generators):

• To bring transparency in power purchase transactions between Generators and Discoms
• Allow users to know the details related to the payments made by the Discoms to the power generation company and when they were made
• Enable the consumers to evaluate financial performance of their Discoms in terms of payments being made to the generation companies.

Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana: To “fund the unfunded” by bringing such enterprises to the formal financial system and extending affordable credit to them.

Under the aegis of Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana, MUDRA has already created the following products / schemes.

Shishu: covering loans upto 50,000/-

Kishor: covering loans above 50,000/- and upto 5 lakh

Tarun: covering loans above 5 lakh and upto 10 lakh

The new cloud-enabled National Data Centre aims to offer round-the-clock operations with secure hosting for various e-governance applications of Central and State Governments and has ability to support 35,000 virtual servers.

Agriculturist has been defined to mean an individual or an HUF who undertakes cultivation of land-

• By own labour
• By the labour of family
• By servants or wages payable in cash or kind or by hired labour under personal supervision or the personal supervision of any member of the family

Refer: Link 1

Quotes

The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu

• Both science and religion are the tools in the hands of the people in their quest for prosperity and internal peace. Scientific advancements illuminate our understanding of the universe, whereas the religion provides answers to the unexplored universe.
• The issues of ‘mind and soul’ and the relentless internal unrest and lack of internal peace constitute this vast unexplored universe. It is the religion which provides some answers to these raging issues.
• The process of questioning and seeking solutions lies at the heart of research. Human progress is not possible without the quest for deeper understanding of the world around. Research and innovation make us grow and they transform the world we inhabit.
• The Indian word for education is “Vidya”. This means, literally, “knowing what it is”. Please note that the emphasis is on “knowing” not on being “taught” what it is. The learners must become active explorers, researchers who try to find out the truth.