IASbaba Press Information Bureau 4th March to 11th March, 2018

ARCHIVES

GS-2

Launch of National Nutrition Mission

(Topic:

• Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
• Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes 😉

Aimed at: 10 crore beneficiaries, mainly children up to the age of 6 years, pregnant and lactating women, and adolescent girls.

Target: To reduce stunting, under-nutrition, and low birth weight by 2 percent per annum, and anaemia by 3 percent annually

• Half of the amount required for the scheme is proposed to come from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and other multilateral development agencies.
• It would be executed with the Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) as the nodal ministry along with Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare which is in-charge of immunisation.
• The mission aims to bring down the stunting percentage as per the National Family Health Survey-4 (2014-15) from 38.4 percent to 25 percent by 2022.
• ICT would be used for real-time monitoring of the services provided by anganwadi workers, ASHA workers (accredited social health activists) and auxiliary nurse midwives.

Must read: Link 1

Launch of Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP)

(Topic:

• Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
• Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes 😉

By: NITI Aayog

Aimed at: Building an ecosystem for women across India to realize their entrepreneurial aspirations, scale-up innovative initiatives and chalk-out sustainable, long-term strategies for their businesses.

Three pillars on which WEP is built:

• Ichha Shakti (motivating aspiring entrepreneurs to start their enterprise)
• Gyaan Shakti (providing knowledge and ecosystem support to women entrepreneurs to help them foster entrepreneurship)
• Karma Shakti (providing hands-on support to entrepreneurs in setting-up and scaling up businesses).

“Make in India” Action Plan

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

Under the “Make in India” action plan, 21 key sectors have been identified for specific actions under:

• Policy initiatives
• Fiscal incentives
• Infrastructure creation
• Ease of doing business
• Innovation and R&D
• Skill development

Key sectors have been opened up for FDI: defence manufacturing, food processing, telecom, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, civil aviation, space, private security agencies, railways, insurance and pensions and medical devices.

Key Points:

• In 2016-17, FDI inflow stood at a record of USD 60 billion, highest ever recorded for a fiscal year ever.
• According to IMF World Economic Outlook (April2017) and UN World Economic Situation Prospects 2017, India is the fastest growing major economy in the world and is projected to remain so in year 2018.

Draft Indian National Strategy for Standardization

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

The Strategy considers the current state of development across sectors, the existing quality infrastructure and the policy directions in relation to domestic economic developments and trade in goods and services.

Key Objectives of Draft INSS

• Positioning standards as a key driver of all economic activities relating to goods and services
• Developing a comprehensive ecosystem in India for standards development taking into account the diversity of interests and expertise available
• Using standards as enhancer of competitiveness of Indian goods and services in domestic and international markets
• Providing level playing field to domestic industry
• Adopting best practices in standardization, conformity assessment and technical regulations and creating an integrated infrastructure, roadmaps and institutions for their effective management
• Playing an active role and taking leadership positions in apex international forums in the related areas
• Creating response mechanisms to global developments on standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment practices that impact market access of Indian goods and services
• Aligning the Strategy with other national policies related to trade & industry, consumers and environment

Cabinet Approves:

Signing of Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement between India and France: The Agreement represents a major milestone in enhancing people-to -people contacts, fostering mobility of students, academics, researchers and skilled professionals and strengthening cooperation on issues related to irregular migration and human trafficking between the two sides.

Signing of an Agreement between India and France to facilitate “Mutual Recognition of Academic Qualifications”:

• To facilitate Mutual Recognition of educational qualifications and periods of study undertaken by students in duly approved, recognized and/or accredited educational Institutions within the two countries
• The agreement will be instrumental in encouraging mobility of students from both the countries by facilitating possibilities for them to continue their studies in the other country and would also promote excellence in higher education through innovative partnerships/collaborations and research activities which will be leading to the improvement of the quality of education in India.

Agreement between India and France to prevent illicit consumption and reduction of illicit traffic in Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and Chemical Precursors and related offences: Aimed at enhancing mutual cooperation between the two countries in the prevention of the said offences through exchange of information, expertise and capacity building.

MoU between India and Hellenic on Renewable Energy Cooperation: Both sides aim to establish the basis for a cooperative institutional relationship to encourage and promote technical bilateral cooperation on new and renewable issues on the basis of mutual benefit equality and reciprocity.

Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2018 for introduction in the Parliament:

It is a part of the efforts of the Government to encourage institutional arbitration for settlement of disputes and make India a centre of robust Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism.

Benefit: Will facilitate achieving the goal of improving institutional arbitration by establishing an independent body to lay down standards, make arbitration process more party friendly, cost effective and ensure timely disposal of arbitration cases.

Background:

To give a boost to institutional, arbitration vis-a-vis ad hoc arbitration and to remove some practical difficulties in applicability of the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2015, a High Level Committee (HLC) under the Chairmanship of Justice B. H. Srikrishna, Retired Judge, Supreme Court of India, was constituted by the Central Government. The HLC was given the mandate –

• To examine the effectiveness of existing arbitration mechanism by studying the functioning and performance of Arbitral Institutions in India;
• To devise a road map to promote institutionalized arbitration mechanisms in India;
• To evolve an effective and efficient arbitration eco-system for commercial dispute resolution and submit a Report on suggested reforms in the statute.

Memorandum of Cooperation between India and France in the field of environment: Will enable establishment and promotion of closer and long-term cooperation between the countries in the field of environment protection and management of natural resources on the basis of equity, reciprocity and mutual benefits, taking into account the applicable laws and legal provisions in each country.

India – Vietnam Relations

(Topic: India and its neighbourhood- relations)

President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: H.E. Mr. Tran Dai Quang

Fathers of the Nation, Vietnam: President Ho Chi Minh

Defence & Security – an important and effective pillar of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership

• Stronger cooperation between their armed forces and enhanced cooperation in areas of cyber security, combating terrorism and violent extremism in all their forms and manifestations, transnational crimes, human and drug trafficking, maritime security, climate change and food security.
• Reaffirmed their commitment to an open, free, secure, stable, peaceful and accessible cyber space under the auspices of the United Nations and called for greater cooperation and effective implementation of the agreements signed between the two sides on cyber security
• Both sides agreed to expedite the implementation of the US$100 million Line of Credit for building of high-speed patrol boats for the Viet Nam Border Guards and urged for early signing of a framework agreement on the US$ 500 million Line of Credit for defence industry

Economic Relations – Need to enhance strong trade and economic engagement

• To explore new trade and investment opportunities in identified priority areas of cooperation: hydrocarbons, power generation, renewable energy, energy, conservation, infrastructure, textiles, footwear, pharmaceuticals, machine tools, agriculture and agro-products, tourism, chemicals, ICT and other service sector industries
• To intensify cooperation to increase productivity, quantum and content of science and technology in agricultural products

Energy Cooperation –

• Welcomed Indian oil and gas companies to avail of opportunities in the midstream and downstream sectors in Viet Nam, to expand their oil and gas exploration and exploitation activities on land and in the continental shelf and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Vietnam

Culture, Education & People-to-People Exchanges

• To intensify cooperation in the fields of culture, tourism and people-to-people exchange, widen and deepen cultural and historical ties by cooperating further in the areas of archaeology, conservation and museums to revive and reconnect the civilizational and historic cultural heritage between the two countries

Connectivity

• The Indian side urged Viet Nam to utilise various initiatives of India for CLMV countries, including the US$1 billion line of credit for physical and digital connectivity projects. The two sides agreed to explore the possibility of extending the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway further to Viet Nam through Cambodia and Lao PDR.
• The two sides stressed the importance of the early signing of an ASEAN-India Maritime Transport Cooperation Agreement. They sought acceleration of the establishment of direct shipping routes between the sea ports of India and Viet Nam.

Regional Cooperation

• Underscoring the significance of sub-regional frameworks in strengthening bilateral cooperation and complementing regional cooperation through ASEAN frameworks, they agreed to optimally develop and utilise existing sub-regional frameworks, especially the Mekong-Ganga Economic Corridor.
• The Vietnamese side reiterated its consistent support for permanent membership of India in a reformed Security Council.
• The two sides re-affirmed their determination and efforts to further cooperate in maintaining peace, stability and development in the Indo – Pacific region as well as in the world at large. They also reiterated the importance of, and the need for complete compliance with international law, notably the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS), including the implementation of international legal obligations in good faith, the maintenance of freedom of navigation and over-flight in the South China Sea, full respect for diplomatic and legal processes, peaceful settlement of disputes without resorting to the threat or use of force, and in accordance with international law. In this regard, both sides support the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of the Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) and look forward to an early conclusion of an effective and substantive Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.

Please Note –

Thousands of educational institutions of all Minority communities including Madrasas have been included in the mainstream education system by connecting them with 3Ts –

• Teacher
• Tiffin
• Toilet

Key Statistics:

• School dropout rate among Muslim girls down from 70% to about 40%
• UNICEF has stated that 25 million child marriages were prevented worldwide in the last decade with South Asia witnessing the largest decline largely due to progress in India. It was stated that in the current trend, 27 per cent of girls get married before they turn 18 years—steep decline from 47 per cent a decade ago.

Quotes by:

PM of India – Shri Narendra Modi

On your journey towards success: “Take up one idea. Make that one  idea your life, think of it, dream of it, live on that idea, let the brain, muscles, nerve, every part of your body be full of that idea and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.”

Education: “Your education should be an education of the heart and the spirit, and of the spirit as much of the brain; it should be a living connection between yourselves and your past as well as the modern world!”

Former President Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam: “If a country is to be corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds, I strongly feel there are three key societal members who can make a difference. They are the father, the mother and the teacher.”

The architect of the Indian Constitution, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar: “I measure the progress of community by the degree of the progress which women have achieved”.