EducatorIAS

The National Health Policy 2017 has advocated mainstreaming the potential of AYUSH systems (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sows-rigpa and Homoeopathy) within a pluralistic system of Integrative healthcare. The Government of India, in February, 2018 has decided that 1.5 lakh health & wellness Centres would be created by transforming existing Sub health Centres and Primary health Centres to deliver Comprehensive Primary health Care. It was further decided that Ministry of AYUSH will operationalize 10% of the total sub-health Centres as Health and Wellness Centres i.e. 12,500 under Ayushman Bharat. The vision of the proposal is to establish a holistic wellness model based on AYUSH principles and practices, to empower masses for "self care" to reduce the disease burden and out of pocket expenditure and to provide informed choice of the needy public. AYUSH Health and Wellness Centre (AYUSH HWC) component of Ayushman Bharat in National AYUSH Mission (NAM). The...

New Extradition Treaty between India and Belgium : The new Extradition Treaty will replace the pre-Independence Extradition Treaty between Great Britain and Belgium of 1901 that was made applicable to India through the exchange of Letters in 1958 and is currently in force between the Republic of India and the Kingdom of Belgium.  Due to the present procedural requirements and the fact that only limited number of offences are listed under the pre-Independence Treaty, the same has become obsolete in today’s context. Benefits of the treaty :             The Treaty would provide a legal framework for seeking extradition of terrorists, economic offenders, and other criminals from and to Belgium.  After ratification, the Treaty will enter into force from the date of exchange of instruments of ratification between India and Belgium. The signing and ratifying of the Extradition Treaty between the Republic of India and ...

The Indian pharmaceutical industry is the 3 rd  largest in the world by volume. However, despite this achievement, India is significantly dependent on import of basic raw materials, viz., Bulk Drugs that are used to produce medicines. In some specific bulk drugs the import dependence is 80 to 100%. Continuous supply of drugs is necessary to ensure delivery of affordable healthcare to the citizens. Any disruption in supplies can have significant adverse impact on Drug Security, which is also linked to the overall economy of the country. Self-sufficiency in manufacturing of bulk drugs is highly required. Recently government of India approved the following schemes: The scheme on Promotion of Bulk Drug Parks for financing Common Infrastructure Facilities in 3 Bulk Drug Parks with financial implication of Rs. 3,000 crore for next five years. Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for promotion of domestic manufacturing of critical KSMs/Drug Intermediates and APIs in the count...

   The production of mobile phones in the country has gone up significantly from around INR 18,900 crore (USD 3 Billion) in 2014-15 to INR 1,70,000 crore (USD 24 Billion) in 2018-19 and the domestic demand is almost completely being met out of domestic production.             By integrating “Assemble in India for the world” into “Make in India”, India can significantly increase manufacturing output.             Electronic components are the basic building blocks for electronics manufacturing.  According to the Electronic Industries Association of India (ELCINA), the electronic components market in India has increased from INR 68,342 crore (USD 11 Billion) in 2015-16 to INR 1,31,832 crore (USD 20.8 Billion) in 2018-19.  Domestic production of electronic components is valued at approximately INR 63, 380 crore (USD 10 Billion), of which around INR 48,803 crore (...

Introduction : To build and create requisite infrastructure ecosystem for electronics manufacturing; Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) notified Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMC) Scheme which was open for receipt of applications upto October, 2017.  A period of 5 years (i.e. upto October, 2022) is available for disbursement of funds for the approved projects.   Under EMC scheme, 20 Greenfield EMCs and 3 Common Facility Centres (CFCs) measuring an area of 3565 acres with project cost of Rs. 3898 crore including Government Grant-in-aid of Rs. 1577 crore have been approved in 15 states across the country.             There is a need for continuation of such scheme in modified form for further strengthening the infrastructure base for electronics industry in the country and deepening the electronics value chain. Status of elecreonic sector in India        ...

The vision of National Policy on Electronics 2019 (NPE 2019) notified on 25.02.2019 is to position India as a global hub for Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) by encouraging and driving capabilities in the country for developing core components, including, chipsets, and creating an enabling environment for the industry to compete globally. A vibrant electronic components manufacturing ecosystem is vital for the overall long-term and sustainable growth of electronics manufacturing in India and essential to achieve net positive Balance of Payments (BoP).           It is, therefore proposed to provide an incentive of 25% on capital expenditure on plant, machinery, equipment, associated utilities and technology, including for Research & Development to the industrial units making investment for manufacturing of electronic components, semiconductors, ATMP, specialized sub-assemblies and capital goods for these items, in the spe...

Subsidies to the farmers are also given as part of various other schemes such as National Food Security Mission (NFSM), Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) and Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) etc for the benefits of the farmers. Most of the schemes are targeted to benefit the small and marginal farmers, the classification of which is based on the size of their land holding. Keeping in view of the objectives of various schemes, which offer subsidies to farmers, periodic review of the same is an ongoing activity and whenever any change/modification is required in the scheme(s) for the overall benefit of the farmers, the same is carried out. The  Government provides subsidies to farmers are as follows: Seeds             The Department is implementing Sub-Mission on Seeds & Planting Materials (SMSP) from the year 2014-15 to promote production and...

Intellectual Property (IP) intensive industry is not defined. However, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade has taken various initiatives to strengthen Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Regime in India like, legislative improvements, modernisation of IP offices, manpower augmentation, use of IT and technology in e-filing of applications, acceptance of email in all Indian Patent Office (IPO) transactions, online delivery of certificates of grant/registration of patent, trademark and designs in digital format, use of video-conferencing for hearing of IP applications, SMS alert to give updates, expedited examination of IP applications, spreading awareness in IPR, India’s accession to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) administered treaties and signing of pilot Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) project with Japan in the month of December 2019. Impacts of the initiatives taken during last 5 years are as under: Period of examination o...

As per Economic Survey 2019-20, at the All-India level, for a vegetarian thali, an industrial worker has to spend around 50 per cent of his/her daily wage in 2019-20 (April-October) to afford two thalis for a household of five individuals. For a non- vegetarian thali, the share of wages he/she has to spend to afford two thalis for a household of five individuals is around 79 per cent in 2019-20 (April-October). The workers in the organised sectors are entitled for the social security benefits as per Employees State Insurance Act, 1948 or Employee’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provident Act, 1952 as applicable to them. The Central Government also provides social security benefits to the workers in the unorganized Sector including rural and agricultural labourers, the Government has enacted the Unorganized Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008. This Act stipulates formulation of suitable welfare schemes for unorganized workers on matters relating to: (i) life and disability cover, (ii)...

The report -“World Health Statistics 2019 – Monitoring Health for the SDGs” published by World Health Organization is intended to monitor progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As per the said report,globally the disparities in health, survival and longevity depends upon access to food, safe drinking water, sanitation, medical care and other basic human needs, as well as behavioural choices and societal contexts that affect the survival of individuals. According to the report, global life expectancy at birth (for both sexes combined) has increased by 5.5 years, from 66.5 in 2000years to 72.0 years in 2016. In order to mitigate the effect of increasing burden of diseases associated with increased life expectancy National Health Mission has initiated various programs like National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke(NPCDCS), National Programme for Control of Blindness and Visual Impairment(NPCBVI), National Ment...

There were 7 Central Government Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and 12 State/Private Sector SEZs prior to the enactment of the SEZ Act, 2005.  In addition, 421 proposals for setting up of SEZs in the country have been accorded formal approval under the SEZ Act, 2005.  Presently, 354 SEZs are notified, out of which 240 SEZs are operational. However, between 1 st  April, 2008 and 29 th  February, 2020, the Board of Approval (BoA) on SEZs on request of SEZ Private Developers, has approved 101 cases of de-notification of SEZs, subject to the refund of all duties and tax benefits availed by the SEZ Private Developer and on receipt of ‘No-objection’ from the concerned State Government.  The reasons given for these request for de-notification include poor market response, lack of demand for SEZ space and change in the fiscal incentive regime for SEZs, etc. The Government had constituted a Group of eminent persons under the Chairmanship of Shri Ba...

India is a major producer of several agricultural/food items in the world but only less than 10 per cent of that is processed. Demand for processed food items is set to increase in India in the coming years providing opportunities for greater value addition, lower wastages and alternative employment opportunities. Analysis of corporate data shows that food processing firms have been profitable, but the value addition component needs to increase significantly. Introduction India has made vast progress overtime in providing food security for its people and has become largely self-reliant in agriculture. Accordingly, the policy focus has shifted from attaining self-sufficiency to generating higher and stable income for the farming population. Food processing industry (FPI) is one area which has the potential to add value to farm output, create alternate employment opportunities, improve exports and strengthen the domestic supply chain. India, with about 11.2 per cent of total arabl...

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/615375/what-is-herd-immunity-and-can-it-stop-the-coronavirus/

Samagra Shiksha - an Integrated Scheme for School Education has been launched throughout the country as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme with effect from the year 2018-19. This programme subsumes the three erstwhile Centrally Sponsored Schemes of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and Teacher Education (TE). It is an overarching programme for the school education sector extending from pre-school to class XII and aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education at all levels of school education. It envisages the ‘school’ as a continuum from pre-school, primary, upper primary, secondary to senior secondary levels. The major interventions under the scheme are: (i) Universal Access including Infrastructure Development and Retention; (ii) Gender and Equity; (iii) Inclusive Education; (iv) Quality; (v) Financial support for Teacher Salary; (vi) Digital initiatives; (vii) Entitlements under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) A...

Unnat Bharat Abhiyan is inspired by the vision of transformational change in rural development processes by leveraging knowledge institutions to help build the architecture of an Inclusive India. Currently under the scheme UBA, 13072 villages have been adopted by 2474 Institutes. The technology interventions under the scheme Unnat Bharat Abhiyan has been able to transform the living conditions in villages. The technological interventions under the UBA cover different subjects broadly categorized like in the area of sustainable agriculture; water resource management; artisans, industries and livelihood; basic amenities (infrastructure & services) and rural energy system. With the interventions in the abovementioned areas, various new and old technologies has been developed which have transformed the living conditionsin villages and has been beneficial for rural India. The main objectives of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA) are as under:   To engage the faculty and students of Higher E...

The developed technology is world class and the development has placed India in the league of developed nations which are in possession of such a knowledgebase.  CSIR has an impressive portfolio of global patents on these developments. In the field of clean energy, Fuel Cell distributed power generation systems are emerging as promising alternative to grid power. The Fuel Cells fit well in India’s mission of replacing diesel with green and alternate fuels. The development of fuel cell technology is indigenous and carries immense national importance in terms of non-grid energy security. The Fuel Cells developed are based on High Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane (HTPEM) Technology.The 5.0 kW fuel cell system generates power in a green manner using methanol / bio-methane, with heat and water as bi-products for further use; amounting to greater than 70% efficiency, which otherwise may not be possible by other energy sources.  The development is most suitable for d...

What is Inflation? Discuss major inflation measures taken by RBI? Prices of specific goods or services may go up or down relative to the prices of others reflecting changes in productivity or demand and supply conditions. But when the overall price level rises, it erodes the purchasing power of income, raises the cost of living and lowers the real value of savings. Savers, investors and financial intermediaries track closely the link between inflation and interest rate. The level of inflation is also critical in terms of maintaining competitiveness of domestic industry in a liberalised trading and market determined exchange rate regime.  More importantly, it is the poor who are most vulnerable to inflation as they do not have any effective hedge against inflation. As Keynes said, "Inflation is the form of taxation which the public find hardest to evade." Thus, the issue of inflation and its measurement have always received lot of attention in India. Major inf...

The National Biopharma Mission (NBM) is an industry-Academia Collaborative Mission for accelerating biopharmaceutical development in the country. Under this Mission the Government has launched Innovate in India (i3) programme to create an enabling ecosystem to promote entrepreneurship and indigenous manufacturing in the sector. The mission will be implemented by Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC). The mission was approved in 2017 at a total cost of Rs 1500 crore and is 50% co-funded by World Bank loan. It is managed through a dedicated Program Management Unit (PMU) at BIRAC. Together with National and International experts, the most promising projects are selected in response to open Request for Applications issued by the PMU. The oversight to the mission activities is provided by the inter-ministerial Steering Committee chaired by the Secretary-DBT. The Technical Advisory Group (TAG) provides approval and reviews scientific progress of its components. Further d...

Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakaram (JSSK)  has been launched with the objective to eliminate out of pocket expenses for both pregnant women and sick infants accessing public health institution for treatment. The initiative was estimated to benefit more than 1 crore pregnant women access public health institutions every year in both urban and rural areas. Entitlements for Pregnant Women under JSSK : Free and zero expense Delivery and Caesarean Section. Free Drugs and Consumables. Free Essential Diagnistics (Blood,Urine tests and Ultra sonography etc.) Free Diet during stay in the health institutions (up to 3 days for normal delivery and 7 days for caesarean section) Free Provision of Blood. Free Transport from Home to Health institutions. Free Transport between facilities in case of referral. Drop Back from institutions to home after 48 hrs stay. Exemption from all kinds of User Charges.   Entitlements for Sick infants under JSSK till one year after birth: Free and zero expense ...