PIB Analysis : 25th July

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PIB Analysis for UPSC CSE

Topics Covered

  1. Atal Innovation Mission
  2. POSHAN Abhiyan
  3. Van Dhan Vikas Karyakram
  4. International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL)
  5. River Information System
  6. Freedom of Expression for Govt Employees
  7. Facts for Prelims : Uranium Mining in India

1 . Atal Innovation Mission

About AIM

  • Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) including Self-Employment and Talent Utilization (SETU) is Government of India’s endeavour to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship.
  • Its objective is to serve as a platform for promotion of world-class Innovation Hubs, Grand Challenges, Start-up businesses and other self-employment activities, particularly in technology driven areas.
  • The Mission has been set up under NITI Aayog

Functions of AIM

  • Entrepreneurship promotion through Self-Employment and Talent Utilization, wherein innovators would be supported and mentored to become successful entrepreneurs
  • Innovation promotion: to provide a platform where innovative ideas are generated :
    • Atal Tinkering Labs
    • Atal Incubation Centers
    • Scale-up support to Established Incubators

Atal Tinkering Labs

  • The objective of establishing AIM is to create scientific temper and cultivate the spirit of curiosity and innovation among young minds.
  • In Schools, AIM facilitates to set up network of Atal Tinkering Laboratories (ATL).
  • The vision of Atal Tinkering Lab initiative is to ‘Cultivate 1 Million children in India as Neoteric Innovators’.
  • The objective of this scheme is to foster curiosity, creativity and imagination in young minds and inculcate skills such as design mind-set, computational thinking, adaptive learning, physical computing, rapid calculations, measurements etc.

2 . POSHAN Abhiyan

About POSHAN Abhiyaan

  • POSHAN Abhiyaan has been set up by Government of India for a three-year time frame commencing from 2017-18 with an aim to reduce the level of stunting in children (0-6 years), under-nutrition (underweight prevalence)in children (0-6 years) and Low Birth Weight at 2% per annum and reduce anaemia among young children (6-59 months), women and adolescent girls at 3% per annum across the country.
  • The objective of POSHAN Abhiyaan to reduce stunting in identified Districts of India with the highest malnutrition burden by improving utilization of key Anganwadi Services and improving the quality of Anganwadi Services delivery. Its aim is to ensure holistic development and adequate nutrition for pregnant women, mothers and children.
  • POSHAN Abhiyaan is a multi-ministerial convergence mission with the vision to ensure attainment of malnutrition free India by 2022.
  • The Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) is implementing POSHAN Abhiyaan

Features

  • The POSHAN Abhiyaan, as an apex body, will monitor, supervise, fix targets and guide the nutrition related interventions across the Ministries.
  • The proposal consists of
    • mapping of various Schemes contributing towards addressing malnutrition
    • introducing a very robust convergence mechanism
    • ICT based Real Time Monitoring system
    • incentivizing States/UTs for meeting the targets
    • incentivizing Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) for using IT based tools
    • eliminating registers used by AWWs
    • introducing measurement of height of children at the Anganwadi Centres (AWCs)
    • Social Audits
    • Setting-up Nutrition Resource Centres, involving masses through Jan Andolan for their participation on nutrition through various activities, among others.

Major impact

  • The programme through the targets will strive to reduce the level of stunting, under-nutrition, anemia and low birth weight babies. It will create synergy, ensure better monitoring, issue alerts for timely action, and encourage States/UTs to perform, guide and supervise the line Ministries and States/UTs to achieve the targeted goals.

Benefits & Coverage

  • More than 10 crore people will be benefitted by this programme. All the States and districts will be covered in a phased manner i.e. 315 districts in 2017-18, 235 districts in 2018-19 and remaining districts in 2019-20.
  • The Government of India and UNICEF have jointly signed the Country Programme 2018-2022 in January, 2018. Under the agreement, UNICEF provides technical support to MWCD for POSHAN Abhiyaan under Country Programme 2018-2022 and also supporting in the following matters:
    • Supported in designing of all guidelines.
    • Preparing Posters and Hoardings
    • Preparation of audio visual.
    • Supported in preparation and designing of Jan Andolan Guidelines
    • Supported in preparation of Dashboard/Google link for Jan Andolan.

3 . Van Dhan Vikas Karyakram

About the Programme

  • Van Dhan Vikas Karyakram is an initiative targeting livelihood generation for tribal population by harnessing the wealth of forest i.e. Van Dhan.
  • The programme aims to tap into the traditional knowledge and skill sets of tribal people by adding technology and Information Technology for upgradation of output at each stage and to convert the tribal wisdom into a remunerative economic activity.
  • Van Dhan Vikas Karyakram seeks to promote and leverage the collective strength of tribal people to achieve a viable scale.
  • Implementation of Van Dhan Vikas Karyakram is through Van Dhan Kendras.

4 . International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL)

About MARPOL

  • International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) is the main international convention covering prevention of pollution of the marine environment by ships from operational or accidental causes.
  • The MARPOL Convention was adopted on 2 November 1973 at IMO. The Protocol of 1978 was adopted in response to a spate of tanker accidents in 1976-1977.
  • The Convention includes regulations aimed at preventing and minimizing pollution from ships – both accidental pollution and that from routine operations – and currently includes six technical Annexes.
  • India is a signatory to MARPOL 
  • Special Areas with strict controls on operational discharges are included in most Annexes.
    • Annex I : Regulations for the Prevention of Pollution by Oil
      • Covers prevention of pollution by oil from operational measures as well as from accidental discharges; the 1992 amendments to Annex I made it mandatory for new oil tankers to have double hulls and brought in a phase-in schedule for existing tankers to fit double hulls, which was subsequently revised in 2001 and 2003.
    • Annex II : Regulations for the Control of  Pollution by Noxious Liquid Substances in Bulk  
      • Details the discharge criteria and measures for the control of pollution by noxious liquid substances carried in bulk; some 250 substances were evaluated and included in the list appended to the Convention; the discharge of their residues is allowed only to reception facilities until certain concentrations and conditions (which vary with the category of substances) are complied with.In any case, no discharge of residues containing noxious substances is permitted within 12 miles of the nearest land.  
    • Annex III : Prevention of Pollution by Harmful Substances Carried by Sea in Packaged Form
      • Contains general requirements for the issuing of detailed standards on packing, marking, labelling, documentation, stowage, quantity limitations, exceptions and notifications. For the purpose of this Annex, “harmful substances” are those substances which are identified as marine pollutants in the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code (IMDG Code) or which meet the criteria in the Appendix of Annex III.
    • Annex IV : Prevention of Pollution by Sewage from Ships 
      • Contains requirements to control pollution of the sea by sewage; the discharge of sewage into the sea is prohibited, except when the ship has in operation an approved sewage treatment plant or when the ship is discharging comminuted and disinfected sewage using an approved system at a distance of more than three nautical miles from the nearest land; sewage which is not comminuted or disinfected has to be discharged at a distance of more than 12 nautical miles from the nearest land.
    • Annex V : Prevention of Pollution by Garbage from Ships 
      • Deals with different types of garbage and specifies the distances from land and the manner in which they may be disposed of; the most important feature of the Annex is the complete ban imposed on the disposal into the sea of all forms of plastics.
    • Annex VI : Prevention of  Air Pollution from Ships
      •  Sets limits on sulphur oxide and nitrogen oxide emissions from ship exhausts and prohibits deliberate emissions of ozone depleting substances; designated emission control areas set more stringent standards for SOx, NOx and particulate matter.  A chapter adopted in 2011 covers mandatory technical and operational energy efficiency measures aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from ships.  

5 . River Information System

About River Information System

  • RIS is a combination of tracking and meteorological equipment with specialized software designed to optimize traffic and transport processes in inland navigation.
  • The system enables swift electronic data transfer between mobile vessels and shore (base stations) through advance and real-time exchange of information so as to ensure navigation safety in inland waterways.
  • It also provides virtual navigational aids to guide the vessel during navigation. 
  • It is operational between Haldia to Farakka (Phase-I) and Farakka to Patna (Phase-II) stretches of NW-1 (Ganga). 

6 . Freedom of Expression for Govt Employees

Rules regarding Freedom of Expression of Govt Employees

  • Aas per Rule 8 of Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964, no Government servant shall, except with the previous sanction of the Government, own wholly or in part, or conduct or participate in the editing or management of, any newspaper or other periodical publication or electronic in a public media.
  • Rule 9 of Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules provides inter-alia that no Government servant shall make any statement of fact or opinion in any form of communication,
    • Which has the effect of an adverse criticism of any current or recent policy or action of the Central Government or a State Government or
    • Which is capable of embarrassing the relations between the Central Government and the Government of any State or
    • Which is capable of embarrassing the relations between the Central Government and the Government of any foreign State;
  • Exceptions
    • Bonafide expression of views by office-bearers of a trade union or association of Government servants for the purpose of safeguarding the conditions of service of such Government servants or for securing an improvement thereof or for views expressed by a Government servant in his official capacity or in the due performance of the duties assigned to him.

7. Facts for Prelims

Uranium mines in India

  • Jaduguda : It is the first uranium mine of India which started its operations in 1967. It is located in Jharkhand.
  • Bhatin : Jharkhand
  • Narwapahar : Jharkhand
  • Turamdih : Jharkhand
  • Bangjata : Jharkhand

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