UPSC 2017-18: PIB Summary and Analysis Oct 18

GENERAL STUDIES PAPER 2

PM dedicates All India Institute of Ayurveda to the nation

Topic: Health

Highlights:

• The Prime Minister asserted that nations cannot progress unless they value and cherish their history and heritage. Those nations, who leave their heritage behind, are destined to lose their identity.
• The Prime Minister said that when India was not independent, its knowledge, and its traditions such as Yoga and Ayurveda were belittled.
• The pride in our heritage is reflected in the way people gather for Ayurveda Day or Yoga Day.
• Ayurveda is not just a medical practice, but encompasses public health and environment health as well.
• That is why the Government has laid stress on integrating Ayurveda, Yoga and other AYUSH systems into the public healthcare system.
• The Prime Minister said that the Government is working towards establishing an Ayurveda hospital in every district of the country. More than 65 AYUSH hospitals have been developed in the last three years.
• The herbal and medicinal plants can be a significant source of income, globally, and India should leverage its capabilities in this regard.
• Union Government has approved 100 percent FDI in healthcare systems.
• Government is focused on providing affordable healthcare for the poor.
• The stress has been on preventive healthcare, and improving affordability and access to treatment. Swachhata – or cleanliness – is a simple mechanism of preventive healthcare.
• New AIIMS are being established to help the people get better access to healthcare. Also measures such as capping prices of stents and knee implants; and establishment of Jan Aushadhi Kendras for providing medicines at affordable prices.

Government makes Revised Quality Standards for Caustic Soda mandatory

Topic: Governance

Context:

• To boost to the domestic industry, under PM’s vision of Make in India.
• Government will make revised quality standards for Caustic Soda mandatory for both domestic manufacturers as well as for imports.
• The revised quality standards, compliant with Bureau of India Standards (BIS) specifications, would necessitate the industry to produce caustic soda using the modern and more energy efficient membrane based technology.
• Mandating compliance to revised BIS specifications will allow superior grade caustic soda to be produced and imported in the country which would be beneficial to human health and environment.
• Before adoption of latest energy efficient membrane cell technology, Caustic soda was produced using an outdated mercury based technology which led to ingress of mercury in the final product which could be harmful to health and environment.

Ensure dignity of living for construction workers, HUA Minister Shri Puri tells builders

Topic: Welfare

• Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs has expressed serious concern over the living conditions of large number of construction workers and urged the builders to ensure dignified living for them by ensuring necessary basic facilities.
• Indian Builders Congress (IBC) have their solemn responsibility to ensure decent living conditions with facilities for cooking, bathing and toilets for workers at construction sites under Clause 19 H of General Contract Conditions and Contract Labour (Regulation) Act.
• The Minister asserted that construction workers make yeomen contribution to economic growth of the country and deserve to be treated with dignity.
• The real estate sector kept evolving with the progress of economic reforms and the resultant economic growth, but had run into hurdles due to inadequate self-regulation and lack of regulatory mechanism.
• This has necessitated the Real Estate Act that was made a reality by this Government last year after eight long years it was first proposed.

Ministry WCD launches campaign on ‘women for women’: #IamThatWoman

Context:

In an attempt to end Gender bias in women against women, the Ministry of Women and Child Development is undertaking an online campaign #IamThatWoman.

 Highlights:

Through the campaign, the Ministry seeks to highlight the various aspects of women standing ‘by’ and ‘for’ women.

Ministry of WCD has urged people to shun stereotypes associated with women harming other women.

Twitter and Facebook users have been encouraged to tag and share stories of women helping women with a photograph and post online with the hashtag #IamThatWoman.

GENERAL  STUDIES PAPER 3

CBEC to Redistribute Cases in Jurisdictions to Reduce Pendency of Cases With Commissioners (Appeal)

Topic: Economic Governance

• In order to clear the pendency of cases as on 30th June 2017 before the Commissioners of Central Excise and Service Tax (Appeals), the CBEC will redistribute the cases pending in the jurisdiction of a Principal Chief Commissioner / Chief Commissioner of Central Excise and Service Tax, among other Commissioner rank officers posted in that jurisdiction.