PIB Analysis : 4th, 5th and 6th December

PIB Analysis for UPSC CSE

Topics Covered

1. e-Marketplace
2. Industrially Backward Districts
3. Steps taken by Government for the safety of women across the country
4. Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY).
5. Eradication of Corruption
6. Senior Citizens Welfare Fund
7. Fit India School Rating
8. Exercise INDRA 2019
9. Fit India Plogging Run
10. Hybrid Annuity Model
11. Going Online as Leaders’ Programme
12. RKVY-RAFTAAR
13. IPAB
14. Anaemia
15. Bharatiya Poshan Krishi Kosh
16. Facts for Prelims

1 . e – Marketplace

About the Marketplace

• GeM SPV has been established as the National Public Procurement Portal to facilitate procurement of goods and services required by Central and State Government organizations.

Key features of the marketplace are: –

• Marketplace based end to end procurement platform for products and services.
• Online validations.
• Inclusive & open.
• Transparent.
• Direct Purchase, e-Bidding, Reverse Auction modes of procurement enabled.
• No registration fee/listing fee.

2 . Salient Features of SEZ Scheme

Salient features of the SEZ scheme

• A designated duty free enclave to be treated as a territory outside the customs territory of India for the purpose of authorised operations in the SEZ;
• No licence required for import;
• Manufacturing or service activities allowed;
• The Unit shall achieve Positive Net Foreign Exchange to be calculated cumulatively for a period of five years from the commencement of production;
• Domestic sales subject to full customs duty and import policy in force;
• SEZ units will have freedom for subcontracting;
• No routine examination by customs authorities of export/import cargo;
• SEZ Developers /Co-Developers and Units enjoy Direct Tax and Indirect Tax benefits as prescribed in the SEZs Act, 2005.

Tax Exemption allowed to SEZ’s

The tax exemptions and other incentives allowed to SEZs are in built into the SEZs Act, 2005. Main fiscal concessions and duty benefits allowed to SEZ developers and units are as follows:

• Exemption from Central Sales Tax, Exemption from Service Tax and Exemption from       State sales tax. These have now subsumed into GST and supplies to SEZs are zero rated    under IGST Act, 2017. 
• Exemption from Income Tax for 15 years as per Income Tax Act.
• Duty free import/domestic procurement of goods 
• Exemption from State sales tax and other levies as extended by the respective State             Governments.

3 . Steps taken by Government for the safety of women across the country

Steps taken by Government for the safety of women across the country

• The Criminal Law (Amendment), Act 2013 was enacted for effective deterrence against sexual offences. Further, the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018 was enacted to prescribe even more stringent penal provisions including death penalty for rape of a girl below the age of 12 years. The Act also inter-alia mandates completion of investigation and trials within 2 months each.
• Emergency Response Support System provides a pan-India, single, internationally recognized number (112) based system for all emergencies, with computer aided dispatch of field resources to the location of distress.
• Using technology to aid smart policing and safety management, Safe City Projects have been sanctioned in first Phase in 8 cities (Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow and Mumbai).
• The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has launched a cyber-crime portal on 20th September 2018 for citizens to report obscene content.
• MHA has launched the “National Database on Sexual Offenders” (NDSO) on 20^th September 2018 to facilitate investigation and tracking of sexual offenders across the country by law enforcement agencies.
• In order to facilitate States/UTs, MHA on 19^th February 2019 launched an online analytic tool for police called “Investigation Tracking System for Sexual Offences” to monitor and track time-bound investigation in sexual assault cases in accordance with the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2018.
• One Stop Centre (OSC) scheme is being implemented across the country since 1st April 2015 which is exclusively designed to provide integrated services such as medical aid, police assistance, legal counselling / court case management, psycho-social counselling and temporary shelter to women affected by violence under one roof. As per available information, 728 OSCs have been approved by Government of India, 595 OSCs are operational in the country.
• In addition to the above-mentioned measures, MHA has issued advisories from time to time with a view to help the States/UTs to deal with crimes against women

4 . Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY), Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) & PMSYM

Background

In order to provide social security benefits to the workers in the unorganized sector, Government enacted the Unorganized Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008. In June, 2017, Government has converged Aam Admi Bima Yojana with Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY).

About the Schemes

• Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) provide insurance cover to unorganized workers.
•  Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana provides life insurance cover of Rs. 2 lakh on payment of premium of Rs. 330 per annum. PMJJBY is available to people in the age group of 18 to 50 years.
• Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana provides insurance coverage of Rs. 2 lakh on accidental death or full disability, and Rs. 1 lakh on partial disability on payment of premium of Rs. 12 per annum. The Scheme is available to people in the age group 18 to 70 years.  The total premium of Rs.342/- is shared equally between the State Government and Central Government. This is implemented through Life Insurance Corporation of India.
• Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-Dhan (PM-SYM) Yojana was started in February, 2019.  This Scheme is a voluntary and contributory pension scheme for the benefit of unorganized workers, for providing monthly minimum assured pension of Rs.3,000/- on attaining the age of 60 years. The unorganized workers in the age group of 18-40 years whose monthly income is Rs.15,000/- or less and not a member of EPFO/ESIC/NPS can join the scheme. Under the scheme, 50% monthly contribution is payable by the beneficiary and equal matching contribution is paid by the Central Government. Enrolment to the Scheme is done through the Common Service Centres, with its network of 3.50 lakh Centres across the country. 

5 . Eradication of Corruption

Measures undertaken to combat corruption and improve probity and accountability of Government institutions. The steps taken by the Central Government, inter alia, include:-

• Systemic improvements and reforms to provide transparent citizen-friendly services and reduce corruption. These, inter alia, include:
  • Disbursement of welfare benefits directly to the citizens under various schemes of the Government in a transparent manner through the Direct Benefit Transfer initiative.
  • Implementation of E-tendering in public procurements.
  • Introduction of e-Governance and simplification of procedure and systems
  • Introduction of Government procurement through the Government e-Marketplace (GeM)
  • An online “Probity Portal” operationalised since 2017 under which various Ministries/Departments, autonomous organizations and public sector banks etc. enter information regarding review under FR 56(j), cases for sanction for prosecution, implementation of rotational transfer policy and disciplinary proceedings etc.
• Discontinuation of interviews in recruitment of Group ‘B’ (Non-Gazetted) and Group ‘C’ posts in Government of India.
• Invocation of FR-56(j) and AIS (DCRB) Rules, 1958 for prematurely retiring officials whose performance has been reviewed and found unsatisfactory.
• The All India Services (Disciplinary and Appeal) Rules and Central Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules have been amended to provide strict timelines in the procedure related to disciplinary proceedings.
• The Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 has been amended on 26.07.2018 to bring a paradigm shift in tackling corruption in as much as clearly criminalizing the act of giving bribe, checking big ticket corruption by creating a vicarious liability in respect of senior management of commercial organizations where the act of giving of bribe is with their consent or connivance.
• Issue of instructions by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) asking the organizations to adopt Integrity Pact in major procurement activities and to ensure effective and expeditious investigation wherever any irregularity/misconduct is noticed.
• The institution of Lokpal has been operationalised by appointment of a Chairperson and eight Members, including four judicial Members. Lokpal is statutorily mandated to directly receive and independently process complaints as regards alleged offences against public servants under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
• In addition, the CVC, as an apex integrity institution, has adopted a multi-pronged strategy and approach to combat corruption, which encompasses punitive, preventive and participative vigilance.
• This Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions has taken several measures to help people to ensure access to relevant information. These, inter alia, include:
  • Enactment of Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005 to set out practical regime of right of information for citizens to secure access to information under the control of Public Authorities.
  • Launching of a web portal namely RTI online with URL www.rtionline.gov.in for all Central Ministries/ Departments/CPSUs for making it convenient for citizens to file RTI requests and first appeals online.
  • Guidelines Issued on suo moto disclosure of information by Public Authorities.
  • Providing funds to various State Governments for establishing helpline in order to facilitate obtaining of the information by the RTI applicants. Funds are also provided each year to various State Administrative Training Institutes (ATIs) by the Government to generate awareness among the citizens through measures like Distance learning programmes and Online Certificate Course in regional languages, publishing of handbooks on RTI and distribution of the same among the public.

6 . Senior Citizens Welfare Fund

About Senior Citizen Welfare fund

• The Central Government established a Fund called as the Senior Citizens Welfare Fund for promoting the welfare of the Senior Citizens
• The Senior Citizens Welfare Fund shall be an interest bearing account in the Public Account of the Union of India
• The nodal Ministry for the administration of the Fund shall be the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
• Fund shall be administered by an inter-ministerial Committee. The Committee will be competent to spend money from the fund for satisfying various objectives.

Fund gets Money through the following ways

• Every institution shall transfer the unclaimed amounts, including those under the following schemes, to the Fund namely:-
  • Small savings and other savings schemes of the Central Government including the Post Office Savings Accounts, Post Office Recurring Deposit Accounts, Post Office Time Deposit Accounts, Post Office Monthly Income Accounts, Senior Citizens’ Savings Scheme Accounts, Kisan Vikas Patras, National Savings Certificates (all issues), Sukanya Samriddhi Accounts and discontinued Small Savings Schemes;
  • Accounts of Public Provident Funds under the Public Provident Fund Scheme, 1968 maintained by the Institutions concerned; and
  • Accounts of Employees’ Provident Fund under the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952.
• The money in accounts which have been inoperative for more than seven years will be diverted in this fund.

7 . Fit India School Rating

Context : Minister of State(I/C) for Youth Affairs & Sports, Shri Kiren Rijiju and Union HRD Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal “Nishank” unveiled the Fit India School Rating brochure and Fit India flag,

About Fit India School Rating

• The Fit India School Rating was launched by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in November.
• The Fit India School Rating system is the first-ever fitness rating for schools to be introduced in India.
• Under the Fit India School Rating system, schools will be given a Fit India Flag and 3 star and 5 star ratings, depending on the fitness levels of the students and teachers in the school, infrastructure available and participation in fitness activities.

The first level of recognition is the Fit India Flag, which is given to schools who meet the following criteria:

1. Having one teacher trained in Physical Education and such teacher is physically fit  and active
2. Having a playground where two or more outdoor games are played.
3. Having one PE period each day for every section and physical activities (sports, dance, games, yoga, PT) take place in the PE period
4. Having all students spending 60 minutes or more on physical activities, daily.

To receive a 3-star rating, a school should fulfill the following criteria:

1. All teachers of the school are physically fit and spend 60 minutes or more every day for physical activities
2. The school has at least two trained teachers, each well versed with any two sports;
3. Sports facilities to play four sports including two outdoor sports and every student learns and plays two sports, one of which could be a traditional/indigenous sport.

To receive a five star rating, a school should receive the following criteria

• School conducts monthly intra-school competitions, participates in inter-school competitions and celebrates Annual Sports Day;
• All teachers are trained in physical education;
• School has two or more sports teachers who may be PE teachers;
• School follows structured PE curriculum prescribed by NCERT/school board;
• School conducts annual fitness assessment of all children and school opens its playground after school hours for neighbouring communities and the same is actively used. Reasonable fee may be charged for maintenance and security.

8 . Exercise INDRA 2019

About Exercise INDRA 2019

• Exercise INDRA 2019 is a joint, tri services exercise between India and Russia
• The INDRA series of exercise began in 2003 and the First joint Tri Services Exercise was conducted in 2017

9 . Fit India Plogging Run

About Fit India Plogging

• Plog Run is a unique way of picking up garbage while jogging and was added to the Fit India Movement as a unique way of combining cleanliness and fitness.
• Ripu Daman Bevli, popularly known as the Plogman of India is named as the Plogging Ambassador of India.
• Bevli, who started plogging in 2017, started the Fit India Plogging Run with the aim to make India litter-free. Belvi and his team have cleaned up 50 cities and covered over 1000km in about 2 months, collecting 2.7 tonnes of garbage.
• Govt also launched the nation-wide Plogging Ambassador Mission under which, Indians who have been running and cleaning their cities, towns or districts, will be nominated as Plogging Ambassadors of their region.

10 . Hybrid Annuity Model

About HAM

• In financial terminology hybrid annuity means that the government makes payment in a fixed amount for a considerable period and then in a variable amount in the remaining period. This hybrid type of payment method is called HAM in the technical parlance.
• Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) has been introduced by the Government to revive PPP (Public Private Partnership) in highway construction in India.

Need

• Launch of the model is due to many problems encountered as associated with the existing ones. Large number of stalled projects are blocking infrastructure projects and at the same time adding to Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) of the banking system.
• In this context, the government has introduced Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) to rejuvenate PPP.

Current Models

Features the HAM is a mix between the existing two models – BOT Annuity and EPC.

a) The Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) Annuity Model

• Under BOT annuity, a developer builds a highway, operates it for a specified duration and transfers it back to the government. The government starts payment to the developer after the launch of commercial operation of the project. Payment will be made on a six month basis.

b) BOT Toll Model

• In this toll based BOT model, a road developer constructs the road and he is allowed to recover his investment through toll collection. This toll collection will be over a long period which is nearly 30 years in most cases. There is no government payment to the developer as he earns his money invested from tolls.

c) Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Model

• Under this model, the cost is completely borne by the government. Government invites bids for engineering knowledge from the private players. Procurement of raw material and construction costs are met by the government. The private sector’s participation is minimum and is limited to the provision of engineering expertise. A difficulty of the model is the high financial burden for the government.

The Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM)

• As per the design, the government will contribute to 40% of the project cost in the first five years through annual payments (annuity). The remaining payment will be made on the basis of the assets created and the performance of the developer.
• Hybrid annuity means the first 40% payment is made as fixed amount in five equal installments whereas the remaining 60% is paid as variable annuity amount after the completion of the project depending upon the value of assets created.
• As the government pays only 40%, during the construction stage, the developer should find money for the remaining amount. Here, he has to raise the remaining 60% in the form of equity or loans.
• There is no toll right for the developer. Under HAM, Revenue collection would be the responsibility of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

Advantages of HAM

• Advantage of HAM is that it gives enough liquidity to the developer and the financial risk is shared by the government.
• While the private partner continues to bear the construction and maintenance risks as in the case of BOT (toll) model, he is required only to partly bear the financing risk. Government’s policy is that the HAM will be used in stalled projects where other models are not applicable.

11 . Going Online as Leaders’ Programme

About GOAL

• GOAL (Going Online as Leaders) is a digitally-enabled mentorship initiative of Facebook for empowering tribal youth to become leaders for tomorrow in the respective fields.
• GOAL Project is stated to aim at identifying and mobilizing renowned people from industry (policy makers and influencers), known for their leadership skills or roles, to digitally empower and personally mentor tribal youth from tribal communities across multiple locations of India.
• The initiative has been designed to identify and attach 1 Mentor who is expert in their respective fields, to four tribal youth, who will be trained and mentored.
• Facebook had started a pilot project on its own in March 2019 in 5 states of India i.e. Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Maharashtra, wherein they have identified 100 Tribal Mentees and 25 Mentors. Further, Facebook envisages to identify 5000 tribals from various fields to be mentored by 1250 mentors in 5 years in a phased manner.
• GOAL (Going Online as Leaders) is a Facebook initiative. Ministry of Tribal Affairs was not associated with the pilot project implemented by the Facebook, specific details regarding State wise beneficiaries are not available.  

12 . RKVY-RAFTAAR ( Remunerative Approaches for Agriculture and Allied sector Rejuvenation )

About RKVY – RAFTAAR

• Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana – Remunerative Approaches for Agriculture and Allied Sectors Rejuvination (RKVY-RAFTAAR) is a unique scheme of Government of India, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare (MoA&FW).
• It is aimed at strengthening infrastructure in Agriculture and Allied sectors to promote Agripreneurship and Agribusiness by facilitating financial aid and nurturing a system of business incubation.
•  The scheme will incentivize States in enhancing more allocation to Agriculture and Allied Sectors.  This will also strengthen farmer’s efforts through creation of agriculture infrastructure that help in supply of quality inputs, market facilities etc.  This will further promote agri-entrepreneurship and support business models that maximize returns to farmers.

Objectives of RKVY-RAFTAAR

• RKVY-RAFTAAR aims at making farming a remunerative economic activity through strengthening the farmers‟ effort, risk mitigation and promoting agri-business entrepreneurship.
• The main objectives of the scheme are-
  • To strengthen the farmers‟ efforts through creation of required pre and postharvest agri-infrastructure that increases access to quality inputs, storage, market facilities etc. and enables farmers to make informed choices.
  • To provide autonomy, flexibility to States to plan and execute schemes as per local/ farmers‟ needs.
  • To promote value chain addition linked production models that will help farmers increase their income as well as encourage production/productivity
  • To mitigate risk of farmers with focus on additional income generation activities – like integrated farming, mushroom cultivation, bee keeping, aromatic plant cultivation, floriculture etc.
  • To attend national priorities through several sub-schemes.
  • To empower youth through skill development, innovation and agrientrepreneurship based agribusiness models that attract them to agriculture.

13 . Intellectual Property Appellate Board

About Intellectual Property Appellate Board

• The Intellectual Property Appellate Board, a quasi-judicial body, was constituted in September 1958. The jurisdiction of the Copyright Board extends to the whole of India.
• The Board is entrusted with the task of adjudication of disputes pertaining to copyright registration, assignment of copyright, grant of Licenses in respect of works withheld from public, unpublished Indian works, production and publication of translations and works for certain specified purposes.
• It also hears cases in other miscellaneous matters instituted before it under the Copyright Act, 1957.
• The Copyright(Amendment)Act, 2012 provides for a full time IPAB Under Section 11 with Chairman and two other members,with its headquaters in Delhi.

14 . Anaemia in India

About Anaemia in India

• As per the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) – IV (20015-16), 54.2 percent women (15-49 years) and 59.5 percent children (6-59 months) in rural area of the country are anaemic.
• As per Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (2016-18), 19% children aged 1-4 years, 17 % children aged 5-9 years and 32% adolescents aged 10-19 years have zinc deficiency in the country.
• The most common cause of anaemia is iron deficiency, caused by inadequate dietary iron intake or absorption, increased needs for iron during pregnancy or growth periods, and increased iron losses as a result of menstruation and helminth (intestinal worms) infestation.
• Other important causes of anaemia include hemoglobinopathies such as Sickle Cell anemia, Thalassaemia etc, Malaria and Flurosis.

Government is implementing various schemes in order to reduce anemia cases in the country. The details of these schemes/programmes are as below:

• The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has launched “Anaemia Mukt Bharat” strategy for prevention and treatment of anaemia in children (6-59 months), pre- school children (5-9 years), adolescents girls and boys (10-19 years), pregnant and lactating women and in women of reproductive age group (15-49 years) in programme mode through life cycle approach via Iron & Folic Acid (IFA) supplementation across life stages.
• Since the initiation of the strategy, various activities have been conducted. These are in the form of guidelines and dissemination, training package, supply chain management assessment, quarterly dashboard report for monitoring and review of programme coverage.
• Universal screening of pregnant women for anaemia is a part of ante-natal care and all severely anaemic mothers are line listed and followed up for comprehensive management at higher facilities.
• Both the Health Management Information System & Mother Child Tracking System are reporting the cases of anaemic and severely anaemic pregnant women.
• In malaria endemic areas, to tackle the problem of anaemia due to malaria particularly in pregnant women and children, Long Lasting Insecticide Nets (LLINs) and Insecticide Treated Bed Nets (ITBNs) are being distributed.
• Health and nutrition education through IEC & BCC to promote dietary diversification, inclusion of iron folate rich food as well as food items that promotes iron absorption.
• Safe Motherhood Booklet is being distributed to the pregnant women for educating them on dietary diversification and promotion of consumption of IFA.
• The details of fund sanctioned and utilized for the anaemia prevention and control programme during the last three years and current year are given below:

15 . Bharatiya POSHAN Krishi Kosh

Context : Ministry of Women and Child Development along with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) announced the Bharatiya Poshan Krishi Kosh in November, 2019. 

About the Programme

• Bhartiya Poshan Krishi Kosh” project has two components –
  • Development of a Food Atlas
  • Documentation of promising practices for Jan-Andolan for POSHAN Abhiyaan. 

About Agro Food Atlas

• The Agro-Food Atlas is to act as a repository of diverse crops across 127 agro-climatic zones of the country having three parts-
  • Crops currently being grown
  • Agro-ecological conditions (soil, organic carbon content, ground water availability etc)
  • Guidance on how a greater diversity of crops could be encouraged in a particular district or block to promote dietary diversity and nutrition.
• The project includes diverse data sources like National Sample Survey, Agri-Census, Soil Health Cards, ISRO’s Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA’s) Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro-Radio meter.
• The project also documents social, behavioral and cultural practices that promote and reinforce healthy dietary behaviors.
• Identification of promising practices with the help of a multi-disciplinary group of experts and developments of a tool kit to disseminate best strategies for Social and Behavioural Change Communication, specific to population groups in those regions is also a part of it. 

Documentation of promising practices for Jan-Andolan for POSHAN Abhiyaan. 

• A Technical Support Unit has been set-up under NITI Aayog which undertakes/conducts/ facilitates regular monitoring and evaluation of the National Nutrition Mission to assess the impact of the programme.
• A National Council on India’s Nutritional Challenges under the Chairmanship of Vice-Chairman NITI Aayog has been constituted to provide policy direction,review and effective coordination and convergence between Ministries which have a sectoral responsibility for the challenge of nutrition.

16 . Facts for Prelims

Horbill Festival

About Hornbill Festival

• It was in the year 2000, that the State Government desirous of promoting tourism embarked upon an ambitious project to exploit the cultural assets of Nagaland, through a weeklong long festival to coincide with the celebration of Nagaland Statehood Day on 1st December.
• Thus, the inception of the Nagaland Hornbill Festival so named in collective reverence to the bird enshrined in the cultural ethos of the Nagas to espouse the spirit of unity in diversity.
• To encourage inter-tribal interaction and to promote cultural heritage of Nagaland, the Government of Nagaland organizes the Hornbill Festival every year in the first week of December for 10 days.
• It draws all the tribes and sub-tribes of Nagaland to the foothills below the lofty spurs of towering Mount Japfü wherin lies Naga Heritage Village, Kisama – the venue of the Festival.
• It plays host to a weeklong medly of cultural performances, indigenous games, craft bazaar, music events, fashion, cycling, motor sporting, events, a kids carnival, floral galleria, food courts, film festival and a series of competitions in various activities.

About Hornbill

• Hornbill is the state bird of Kerala and Arunachal Pradesh
• They are characterized by a long, down-curved bill which is frequently brightly colored and sometimes has a casque on the upper mandible
• They are the only birds in which the first and second neck vertebrate are fused together
• They are mainly frugivorous, but they also feed on small animals

Threats

• Tribesmen in parts of northeastern India and Borneo use the feathers for head-dresses, and the skulls are often worn as decorations
• They are hunted for meat
• Forest clearance for agriculture

National Florence Nightingale Awards

• The National Florence Nightingale Awards are given for nursing professionals.
• The award was instituted by Health ministry in 1973 as a mark of recognition for the meritorious services of nurses. The award carries Rs 50000 cash, a certificate, a citation certificate and a medal.
• Florence Nightingale, founder of modern nursing, was born on May 12, 1820 and hence this day is celebrated as International Nurses Day all over the world.

Anti-Dumping Duty

• Dumping is said to occur when the goods are exported by a country to another country at a price lower than its normal value. This is an unfair trade practice which can have a distortive effect on international trade.
• Anti dumping is a measure to rectify the situation arising out of the dumping of goods and its trade distortive effect.
• Thus, the purpose of anti dumping duty is to rectify the trade distortive effect of dumping and re-establish fair trade.
• The use of anti dumping measure as an instrument of fair competition is permitted by the WTO. In fact, anti dumping is an instrument for ensuring fair trade and is not a measure of protection per se for the domestic industry. It provides relief to the domestic industry against the injury caused by dumping.

R Venkatraman

• R Venkatraman was an Indian lawyer, Indian independence activist and politician who served as a Union Minister and as the eighth President of India.

Investor Education & Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA) 

• For administration of Investor Education and Protection Fund Government of India has established Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority under the provisions of section 125 of the Companies Act, 2013.
• The Authority is entrusted with the responsibility of administration of the Investor Education Protection Fund (IEPF), make refunds of shares, unclaimed dividends, matured deposits/debentures etc. to investors and to promote awareness among investors.

The IEPF is to be utilized for

•  The refund in respect of unclaimed dividends, matured deposits, matured debentures, the application money due for refund and interest thereon
•  Promotion of investors’ education, awareness and protection
•  Distribution of any disgorged amount among eligible and identifiable applicants for shares or debentures, shareholders, debenture-holders or depositors who have suffered losses due to wrong actions by any person, in accordance with the orders made by the Court which had ordered disgorgement
•  Reimbursement of legal expenses incurred in pursuing class action suits under sections 37 and 245 by members, debenture-holders or depositors as may be sanctioned by the Tribunal and
•  Any other purpose incidental thereto, in accordance with such rules as may be prescribed: Provided that the person whose amounts referred to in clauses (a) to (d) of sub-section (2) of section 205C transferred to Investor Education and Protection Fund, after the expiry of the period of seven years as per provisions of the Companies Act, 1956, shall be entitled to get refund out of the Fund in respect of such claims in accordance with rules made under this section.

Head on Generation Technology

• Indian Railways have come up with an energy efficient and environment friendly innovative solution to address the issues of air & noise pollution and energy efficiency in running of passenger trains.
• An improvised converter has been developed, which is fitted in Electric locomotives which can replace these diesel generators. It uses power from overhead catenary to feed auxiliaries in the coaches hauled by Electric locomotives. It saves up to 1 Million liters of diesel per train per annum.
• This requires locomotives as well as coaches to be modified for making them suitable for HOG. The major advantages of HOG system include:
  • Reduction in noise- from 100dB noise to noise less,
  • Significant reduction ofCO₂ (over 2500Ton) & NO_X(over 10Ton) emissions till now, 
  • Reduced Diesel Consumption leading to huge savings in operational costs to the tune of over Rs.1100 crores per annum
  • Economical- EOG Power Rs 22/unit, HOG Power Rs 6/unit.

Port of Call

• Port of call means an intermediate stop for a ship on its scheduled journey for cargo operation or taking on supplies or fuel.
• Port of call between India and Bangladesh are as follows :
  • India : Kolkata, Haldia, Pandu, Karimganj, Silghat, Dhubri
  • Bangladesh : Narayanganj, Khulna, Mongla, Sirajganj, Ashuganj, Pangaon
    

Asian Development Bank

• ADB has 67 regional and non-regional members
• Covered under September Current Affairs

Child in Conflict with Law

• As per Section 2 (13) of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act), “child in conflict with law” means a child who is alleged or found to have committed an offence and who has not completed eighteen years of age on the date of commission of such offence”.

Ekal Vidyalaya

• Ekal Vidyalaya is a Movement involved in integrated & holistic development of rural & tribal India and Nepal.
• The main activity undertaken in this movement is to run one-teacher schools (known as Ekal Vidyalayas) all over India, in the remotest rural & tribal villages to take the education to every child.

Swasthya Rakshan Program & Integrated NPCDCS

• Swasthya Rakshan Program:– CCRH launched Swasthya Rakshan program which  is being undertaken in 55 villages/ urban colonies through 11 institutes under the Council. In this programme the local population is given health education and are sensitized about adopting hygienic measures and are motivated about benefits & adopting healthy life style; screening for early diagnosis and first line of treatment by holding camps periodically in 55 identified villages.
• Integrated NPCDCS Program:- Integration of Homoeopathy and  Yoga  in National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases & Stroke (NPCDCS) has been taken up at Community  Health Centre levels  in–Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh , Darjeeling district, West Bengal, Sambalpur, Odisha and Nashik , Maharashtra  .  The program has been undertaken in collaboration with Ministry of Health and Family Welfare under NPCDCS programme.

Facilities under Ayushman Bharat Yojana

• AB-HWCs would provide service delivery of a package of preventive, promotive, curative and rehabilitative services delivered close to communities to overcome the challenge of dual burden of disease.
• The expanded range of services would include services related to Non-Communicable diseases, Mental health, ENT, Ophthalmology, Oral health, Geriatric and palliative health care and Trauma care, in addition to the existing services of RCH and communicable diseases. Services at AB-HWCs are free and universal to all.
• The Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and Community Health centres (CHCs) would continue to provide IPD and OPD services as per the existing Indian Public Health Standards, Eg. PHCs with an Operation Theatre facility would provide fixed day approach services for vasectomy, tubectomy etc. and CHCs would provide services for minor surgical procedures. CHCs which have been equipped as First Referral Units would provide services for C-section.
• Under Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), health cover up to Rs. 5 lakh per family per annum is provided to around 10.74 crore poor and vulnerable families as per Socio-Economic Caste Census data through empanelled hospitals. All public hospitals (Community Health Centre and above), in the States implementing the scheme, are deemed empanelled.  Further, State Governments, through State Health Agencies, empanel private hospitals within their jurisdiction based on the defined criteria and hospital empanelment guidelines to provide care to beneficiaries. Empanelment of hospitals is a continuous process and as on 03.12.2019, 19,752 hospitals including 10,627 public and 9,124 private hospitals are empanelled under AB-PMJAY.

ICDS CAS

• The main purpose of the POSHAN Abhiyaan is to improve the nutritional status of children and reduce the level of under-nutrition.
• For this purpose, ICDS-CAS (ICDS-Common Application Software) enables growth monitoring of children with the help of auto plotting of growth chart on the mobile application.
• Children (0-5 years) are weighed and their height measured at the Anganwadis across the country and their data are entered in the ICDS-CAS application. Thus, it enables monitoring of nutritional status of children across the country on monthly basis.
• SMS alerts are sent to the concerned authorities for taking remedial action. Severely Acute Malnourished children with medical complications are referred to Nutrition Rehabilitation Centres by the health functionaries.

Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana

• The maternity benefits under Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) are available to the eligible beneficiaries for first living child. Normally, the first pregnancy of a woman exposes her to new kinds of challenges and stress factors. Hence, the scheme provides support to the mother for safe delivery and immunization of her first living child.