PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU (PIB) IAS UPSC – 1st April to 4th April – 2021

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Phase III of the eCourts Project

(Topic: Structure, organization and functioning of the Judiciary)

The eCommittee Supreme Court has prepared the draft vision document  for Phase III of the eCourts Project under the auspices of the Supreme court of India. 

E-Courts Project is a mission mode project undertaken by the Department of Justice, Government of India.

Objective: For all the stakeholders, i.e., Advocates, Litigants, common citizens, Law students, Technical experts to give valuable inputs suggestions and feedback as the knowledge, insight, concerns, and experience of the stakeholders will help to refine the vision document of the next phase of the ecourts Project and to plan its implementation.

Phase III of the eCourts Project in India 

It is rooted in two central facets—access and inclusion. Phase III of the eCourts Project envisions a judicial system that is more easily accessible irrespective of geographical distances, efficient and equitable for every individual who seeks justice, makes more efficient use of human and other resources, and absorbs the latest technology for a positive environmental impact.

This vision for Phase III is sought to be built on the following four building blocks:

1. Core Values: Phase III must strive for a modern judicial system, governed by core values of trust, empathy, sustainability and transparency which, while simplifying procedures, will maximise the positives of technology and minimise its risks and challenges.
2. Whole-of-system approach: Phase III must aim to make processes more efficient across all three components of dispute management i.e. dispute avoidance, containment and resolution. Each of these components will require technological integration with different institutions.
3. Adoption frameworks: Phase III must focus on building strong adoption frameworks. Such frameworks must include behavioural nudges, adequate training and skill set development, feedback loops, along with the requisite mandate of law.
4. Governance framework: From a governance perspective, while numerous judicial decisions have validated the use of technology in judicial processes, Phase III must address the accompanying administrative structures. The key goals and strategy of Phase III prioritise the creation of a core digital infrastructure that can enable the development of services for dispute resolution by the judiciary and services of solutions for dispute containment and resolution by the ecosystem.

About eCommittee of the Supreme Court

The eCommittee of the Supreme Court has been overseeing the implementation of the eCourts Project, conceptualized under the “National Policy and Action Plan for Implementation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the Indian Judiciary-2005”. The eCommittee has evolved in terms of its roles and responsibilities over the last fifteen years.

Objectives

• Interlinking of all courts across the country
• ICT enablement of the Indian judicial system
• Enabling courts to enhance judicial productivity, both qualitatively and quantitatively
• Making the justice delivery system accessible, cost-effective, transparent and accountable
• Providing citizen-centric services

National Policy for Rare Diseases, 2021

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

The Rare Diseases Policy aims to lower the high cost of treatment for rare diseases with increased focus on indigenous research with the help of a National Consortium to be set up with Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare as convenor. 

• Increased focus of research and development and local production of medicines will lower the cost of treatment for rare diseases. 
• The policy also envisage creation of a national hospital based registry of rare diseases so that adequate data is available for definition of rare diseases and for research and development related to rare diseases within the country.
• The Policy also focuses on early screening and prevention through primary and secondary health care infrastructure such as Health and Wellness Centres and District Early Intervention Centres (DEICs) and through counselling for the high-risk parents. Screening will also be supported by Nidan Kendras set up by Department of Biotechnology. 
• Policy also aims to strengthen tertiary health care facilities for prevention and treatment of rare diseases through designating 8 health facilities as Centre of Excellence and these CoEs will also be provided one-time financial support of up to Rs 5 crores for upgradation of diagnostics facilities.                    
• A provision for financial support up to Rs. 20 lakhs under the Umbrella Scheme of Rastriya Arogya Nidhi is proposed for treatment, of those rare diseases that require a one-time treatment (diseases listed under Group 1 in the rare disease policy). Beneficiaries for such financial assistance would not be limited to BPL families, but the benefit will be extended to about 40% of the population, who are eligible under Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.  
• Besides, the Policy also envisages a crowd funding mechanism in which corporates and individuals will be encouraged to extend financial support through a robust IT platform for treatment of rare diseases. Funds so collected will be utilized by Centres of Excellence for treatment of all three categories of rare diseases as first charge and then the balance financial resources could also be used for research.

The Need for the Policy

The field of rare diseases is very complex and heterogeneous and prevention, treatment and management of rare diseases has multiple challenges.   Early diagnosis of rare diseases is a major challenge owing to a variety of factors that include lack of awareness among primary care physicians, lack of adequate screening and diagnostic facilities etc.

There are also fundamental challenges in the research and development for the majority of rare diseases as relatively little is known about the pathophysiology or the natural history of these diseases particularly in the Indian context. Rare diseases are also difficult to research upon as the patients pool is very small and it often results in inadequate clinical experience. Availability and accessibility to medicines are also important to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with rare disease. Despite progress in recent years, there is a need to augment effective and safe treatment for rare diseases. The cost of treatment of rare diseases  is prohibitively expensive.  Various High Courts and the Supreme Court have also expressed concern about lack of a national policy for rare diseases.

Prelims-oriented News

Utkala Dibasa: Odisha Day

• Utkala Dibasa is celebrated on 1 April in the Indian state of Odisha in memory of the formation of the state as a separate state out of Bihar and Orissa Province with addition of Koraput and Ganjam from the Madras Presidency on 1 April 1936.
• After losing its political identity completely in 1568 following the defeat and demise of the last king Mukunda Dev, efforts resulted in the formation of a politically separate state under British rule on a linguistic basis on 1 April 1936.

MyNEP2020” platform of NCTE Portal: The platform seeks to invite suggestions/inputs/membership from the stakeholders for preparing draft for development of National Professional Standards for Teachers (NPST) and National Mission for Mentoring Program membership (NMM). This exercise of digital consultation envisages the participation of teachers, education professionals, academicians, & other stakeholders in preparing the documents on teacher policy for sustainable and positive change in the Teacher’s Education Sector. For preparing the documents on above two major recommendations of NEP 2020, NCTE will work in close consultation with individuals/organizations.

Dadasaheb Phalke Award: Rajinikanth

• DadasahebPhalke (1870–1944), was an Indian film-maker who directed India’s first full-length feature film, Raja Harishchandra (1913). He is regarded as “the father of Indian cinema.”
• The award is given to people for their “outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema”.
• It is presented annually at the National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals (an organisation set up by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting).
• The award prize consists of a golden lotus, a cash prize of ₹10 lakh and a shawl.
• The award was first presented in 1969. The first recipient of the award was actress Devika Rani, “the first lady of Indian cinema.”

Sankalp se Siddhi – Village & Digital Connect Drive 

• By: TRIFED under Ministry of Tribal Affairs

• Aim: To activate the Van Dhan Vikas Kendras in the villages

• Starting from April 1, 2021, this 100 day drive will entail 150 teams (10 in each region from TRIFED and State Implementation Agencies/Mentoring Agencies/Partners) visiting ten villages each. 100 villages in each region and 1500 villages in the country will be covered in the next 100 days.
• It is expected that Sankalp Se Siddhi will aid in effecting a complete transformation of the tribal ecosystem across the country.

Good Friday

• It is observed by Christians a day before Easter to commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ at Calvary Hills. 
• According to the Bible, Jesus was crucified to death in the most brutal way. The Bible says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). It says that he was beaten, tortured, and made to carry his own cross before being crucified on it. 
• Good Friday also marks the end of over a month of fasting called Lent. It is a period during which Christians fast, pray and give alms.
• He gave the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. Despite it being a terrible day, it paved the way for the salvation of mankind as Jesus resurrected and came back to life two days later i.e. on Sunday. Christians marked it as ‘Good’ as a symbol of victory of good over evil.
• There is another belief that it is originated from the term ‘God’s Friday.’ Others interpret ‘Good’ as ‘holy’ and therefore call it ‘Good Friday.’

Quotes

By the Vice President Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu

On Governance

• People must elect their representatives on 4Cs—Character, Conduct, Calibre and Capacity
• Citizen-centric governance will come from governance-centric electorate
• Good governance was essential to fulfill the aspirations of the people and in ensuring that various schemes were implemented effectively. Good governance was also equally important to fulfill the aspirations of the people. Happiness comes with good governance.

Usage of mother tongue

• Always remember your mother, mother tongue, motherland and native place
• Calls for extensive use of mother tongue in courts and administration